A total of P48.28 million worth of non-compliant steel products were seized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) during a joint enforcement operation in Manila and Valenzuela.

In a statement on Friday, DTI said the enforcement operation stemmed from a test-buy operation by the NBI.

Collected steel samples were sent to a DTI-accredited laboratory, where testing revealed that the products failed to meet the Philippine National Standards (PNS) for safety and quality.

Based on these findings, the DTI’s Fair-Trade Enforcement Bureau (FTEB) and the NBI inspected five firms. Four of the establishments were found selling products that violated mandatory quality standards and labeling rules.

Authorities confiscated a total of 200,730 steel pieces, including galvanized iron pipes, black iron pipes, welded lightweight steel tubes, deformed steel bars, rerolled steel bars, and low-carbon steel wires.

The DTI issued Notices of Violation to the non-compliant establishments, which now face further investigation and legal action under trade and consumer protection laws.

According to the DTI-FTEB, the crackdown is part of an ongoing campaign to pull unsafe construction materials from the market.

Both agencies emphasized their commitment to halting the distribution of substandard products that compromise structural integrity and jeopardize public safety.