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Lemon cement still prevalent, warns DTI

By Ayen Infante

04/26/2008

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) warned the public anew against substandard cement flooding the market.

Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila said the public should be vigilant and buy only cement with the Philippine Standard (PS) or Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) mark.

Construction activities in the country peak during the dry period, thus, the DTI-Bureau of Product Standards advised consumers to be very cautious with the cement they use.

“Only those BPS-certified cement are reliable and safe for construction use, for these products have passed stringent tests and inspections based on relevant standards prior its sale,” Favila explained.

DTI regulates construction products such as cement to protect the interest of businesses and to safeguard consumers’ welfare.

The DTI-BPS product certification scheme requires manufacturers and importers to have their products tested based on specific Philippine National Standard (PNS) at the BPS Testing Center or any DTI-accredited or recognized laboratory prior to its sale or distribution.

Only products that comply with the quality and safety requirements of the PNS are issued with PS License and ICC certificate, respectively. These manufacturers and importers are then authorized to affix the PS and ICC marks on their products as a guide to consumers.

Aside from looking for the PS or ICC marks when buying cement, consumers should also check if the cement bag is properly labeled with the name and type of cement (Portland or Pozzolan), name and address of manufacturers or importers, brand, trade name and recognized trade mark, net mass in kg, the country of manufacture, manufacturing date, and the number of the particular shipment and batch identification number for imported cement.

Cement bags also have color bands for consumers to easily distinguish each type of cement, such as a red band for Portland cement, a green band for Pozzolan Type P, and three yellow stripes for Pozzolan Type 1P.