A congressional inquiry is being proposed to investigate the supposed collusion among regulators and local steel makers to tamper with the standards of steel products being used in building commercial and high-rise structure, according to Buhay party-list Rep. Joselito Atienza.
While the country has a a lot of skilled architects and engineers, the problem of corruption in the government in the issuance of building permits has been a stumbling block to push for the strict adherence of the National Building Code, Atienza said.
Local steel makers are not violating laws related to manufacturing steel products, but there are instances when some government agencies would collude to have a grade 40 steel bar passed as grade 60, he said.
“Lives are at stake here, especially we are located in a seismic area. There should be no short-cut and they [steel makers] should strictly comply with international steel standards. We will investigate them to find out if they are fooling us,” he said.
Emilio Morales, former chairman of the Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines, raised alarm that substandard construction materials, particularly reinforced steel bars, are still being used to build high-rise commercial buildings and residential condominiums in key business districts.
Based on Morales study entitled “A Clear and Present Danger,” the engineer enumerated the real dangers of quenched tempering (QT) process.
China and Taiwan have already banned the use of QT bars in constructing high rises.
“I am alarmed by Engineer Morales’ study and its findings. We should protect lives and property at all costs since the Philippines is a seismic belt country. Lives are more important than profit by big businesses. If there is corruption in the dealings between business and government, we will ferret this out,” Atienza said.
He vowed to work closely with Morales to find ways to address the issue.
“I am particularly alarmed by the lack of proper testing and labelling of steel rebars. We should not wait for the Big One to strike before we act to save thousands of lives,” he noted.