The Philippine Iron and Steel Institute (PISI) and industry experts asked the government to ban induction furnace (IF) steelmaking in the country and strengthen enforcement against the proliferation of substandard steel products that put lives and infrastructure at risk—especially in the event of a major natural disaster.
They made the statement following the collapse of a bridge in Isabela province.
PISI president Ronald Magsajo underscored the danger posed by non-compliant steel in residential and commercial structures, saying that many manufacturers continue to violate Philippine National Standards (PNS 49 for rebars and PNS 657 for angle bars).
“Our recent 2024–2025 market test buys show alarming rates of non-conformance. Substandard steel is still rampant in the market and remains a silent threat to public safety,” Magsajo said Wednesday at the weekly Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.
Joining the call for urgent action was Department of Science and Technology – Metals Industry Research and Development Center (DOST-MIRDC) consultant Roberto Cola, who warned about the growing number of steel plants using outdated induction furnace (IF) technology.
“Induction furnaces don’t remove harmful elements in steel, resulting in inconsistent, unsafe products. Worse, these plants release hazardous emissions without proper filtration, endangering workers and surrounding communities,” he said.
Cola said that although China banned such furnaces in 2017, many of the obsolete facilities have since been exported to Southeast Asia—including the Philippines, where IF capacity surged from less than 150,000 metric tons (MT) in 2017 to around 3 million MT today.
“These facilities are now the main source of substandard rebars and angle bars in the country,” he said, noting that 20 IF out of 42 steelmaking facilities in the country were monitored to market substandard steel products.
The forum also highlighted the critical link between structural integrity and disaster preparedness, with Office of Civil Defense Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno warning that the “Big One”—a magnitude 7.2 earthquake from the West Valley Fault that occurs roughly every 400 years—could kill up to 50,000 people and injure more than 160,000 based on recent studies.
“We are not creating panic—we are raising awareness. Up to 500,000 homes may collapse, along with 2,800 structures. Our first line of defense is structural integrity. If we want to keep casualties to a minimum, we need to ensure that buildings are made with materials that meet the highest safety standards,” Nepomuceno said.
Magsajo and Nepomuceno said using certified steel is a non-negotiable part of building a safer, more resilient country.
PISI reiterated its call on the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to strengthen enforcement and impose maximum penalties on violators, while pushing for a nationwide ban on IF steelmaking to prevent a future catastrophe.
