SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) has stopped the release of imported steel products that have not been inspected and certified by the Bureau of Product Standards (BPS) to ensure these items comply with local standards. In stopping the release of these products without certification from the BPS, Judge Phoeve Meer of the Makati RTC ruled that the orders of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) were “null and without force and effect” for breaching the product standards law (Republic Act No. “The respondents cannot arrogate upon themselves powers not even contemplated by Congress,” Meer said in the decision. The ruling addressed a complaint against DTI by manufacturer Steel Asia, amid the release in 2016 of a shipment of deformed steel bars from China, which passed through Subic Freeport. The DTI-Zambales office cleared the shipment following a May 16, 2017 report, which concluded that samples of the steel bars “passed the mechanical, chemical and physical tests required by law.” —Allan MacatunoADVERTISEMENT

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer January 27, 2018 22:52 UTC