Substandard Steel Use a 'Bigger' Problem Than Known, Marcos Says

President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. on Sunday expressed concern that the issue of substandard steel being used as building material in the Philippines is a "bigger" problem than most people realize. Speaking to reporters at the end of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, Marcos said that companies making substandard steel products began to proliferate around 2018. "We will probably turn up more of these because our search continues, and we had thought that there would only be a few of these, but as time went on we found more," he said. In August, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said it identified 20 factories allegedly selling and distributing substandard and radioactive steel, in the wake of the raid on a factory in Davao City. The NBI said that facility was selling and distributing substandard and radioactive steel, with the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) confirming the presence of toxic substances at the site, to which workers may have been exposed. "It's very dangerous because the steel is being used. We have a suspicion that the use of substandard steel may be behind the collapse of some buildings," Marcos said, adding that if you cannot trust your building materials, you cannot trust the building. He did not blame building contractors, saying they likely did not know about the quality of the steel purchased for construction. "The contractors for the most part follow the building plans. It's the inspector...how did the substandard steel get past them," he said. Marcos said building materials should be tested so that any flaws could be caught before the products are purchased and used in construction. Marcos said that the makers of these substandard products have proliferated due to the length of time they have been able to operate. "With how long they've been around, they've probably been able to put up a lot of buildings." He likened substandard material makers to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs). "They might be like the POGOs, that when we caught them we were all surprised at how big the operation had gotten. I don't think this will be that bad, but it's bigger than most people know," he said.