Philippines to Impose Mandatory Product Certification for Plastic Pipes

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS) is gearing up to impose mandatory certification for plastic pipes to ensure that they comply with safety requirements. According to a draft department administrative order (DAO), plastic pipes covered under the mandatory certification cannot be distributed without a PS (Philippine Standards) mark or ICC (Import Commodity Clearance) sticker. “The DAO aims to strictly ensure that plastic pipe products to be manufactured, imported, distributed, sold, or used in the Philippines meet the specified quality requirements prescribed by this technical regulation,” said Jacklyn Vanessa S. Macapagal, senior trade-industry development specialist at the BPS building and construction products certification division at a public consultation on Tuesday. The order also seeks to prevent the distribution of substandard and uncertified products, which could impact quality and consumer safety. The scope of the order includes Polyethylene Pipes for water supply, drainage, and sewerage under pressure; as well as Unplasticized Polyvinyl Chloride pipes for potable water and electrical applications. The DAO also imposes mandatory product certification for Plastic Piping Systems for soil and waste discharge (low and high temperature) inside buildings, and Polybutylene Pipes for potable water, the BPS said. Products exempted from the order include perforated pipes, Polypropylene Random Copolymer plastic pipes, CPVC pipes, Corrugated HDPE, and Garden Hoses. The draft DAO also details the PNS standards for every plastic pipe product covered in the order. The PS Quality Certification Mark Licensing Scheme will be available to both domestic and foreign manufacturers selling and/or distributing plastic pipe products in the Philippine market, according to the DAO. It added that the license to use the PS Certification Mark will be granted to companies found to be compliant. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz