DTI Issues New Guidelines for Mandatory Certification of Portland, Blended Hydraulic Cements

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has issued the new guidelines for mandatory certification of Portland and blended hydraulic cement with pozzolan through the Department Administrative Order (DAO) 17-02:2017.

The DTI, in a statement, said that DAO 17-02:2017 specific for the mandatory certification of Portland cement and blended hydraulic cement with pozzolan covered by PNS 07:2005 and PNS 63:2006 respectively, specifies that only cement manufactured by a Philippine Standard (PS) Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark License holder shall be permitted to be imported into the Philippines.

Under DAO 17-02, all cement importations sourced from a foreign-based manufacturer holding a valid PS license, now requires an Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) certificate on a per shipment per Bill of Lading basis, and is subject to existing ICC procedures.

DTI-Bulacan provincial director Rhine Aldana said that the order also specifies that, cement importations of local cement manufacturers operating an Integrated Cement Plant/s (ICP) in the Philippines are exempted from applying for an ICC application, provided that the imported cement was sourced from a foreign-based manufacturer holding a valid PS license and bears the same brand vis- à-vis the brand reflected in the local PS license of the importer-manufacturer.

Importations by ICP shall apply for exemption on a per shipment per Bill of Lading basis and shall be subject to random sampling at the point of sale and independent testing.

“In addition, it states that PS applications shall be filed by a business entity registered under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Foreign-based manufacturers are required to file their application by its local branch duly registered and in accordance with Philippine Laws,” she said.

Aldana also explained that DAO 17-02 further specifies that for ICC applications, all cement importers must be registered with SEC or DTI prior to receiving cement import shipments with a minimum capitalization of PHP20 million paid up capital for SEC registered companies and a surety bond of 10% of the declared value per ICC application.

At the same time, DTI-Consumer Protection Group (DTI-CPG) Undersecretary Teodoro C. Pascua said that PS licenses (local and foreign) issued under the DAO 04:2008 or the new rules and regulations concerning the Philippine Standard (PS) Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark Scheme of the Bureau of the Philippine Standards (BPS) prior to the effectivity of DAO 17-02 shall remain valid until the date of its expiration and PS applications received prior to the new DAO shall be processed in accordance with DAO 04:2008.

“DTI is committed to ensure public safety, traceability and accountability by meeting with DTI’s Regional Operations Group (DTI-ROG) and the cement industry to present and discuss the new guidelines for the mandatory certification of Portland and blended hydraulic cement with pozzolan,” Pascua said. (Emil G. Gamos/PNA)