Philippines releases first batch of imports

Philippines orders 10.000 50-kilo bags of imported Portland cement released for sale even as concerns over product quality have been raised. Philippines releases first batch of imports

It is unknown whether the imported cement has already gone through the requisite sampling and testing of the Bureau of Product Standards.

Nonetheless, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) ordered that product not to be transferred pending issuance of the BPS Import Commodity Clearance and that the imported cement was only for the internal use of Topway's own projects.

The Manila Bulletin was unable to reach the director-in-charge of the Bureau of Product Standards to confirm whether the imported cement had passed the tests for quality standards and legal questions on the product's packaging of 50 kilogram bag instead of the standard 40 kilogram bag as required under Philippine law. {/reg}