THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Davao Region is asking the public to be cooperative with Holcim Philippines in its drive to recall its defective cement.
On February 20, the company released a consumer advisory through the local dailies stating that it will withdraw from the market those Holcim Excel cement in bags produced by its Davao plant between February 2 and 4. A total of 130,000 bags were produced during these dates.
“This batch of cement bags was found to have low strength development and may be unsuitable for load-bearing concrete such as posts and beams,” the announcement stated.
In order to find out the date of production of the Holcim Excel cement that a consumer has bought, he/she just have to look at the first four digits indicated at the bottom of the bags. The first two numbers indicate the month while the last two specifies the actual day of production.
The said problem occurred when Holcim Davao’s X-Ray machine for chemical analysis suddenly malfunctioned.
To date, Holcim is working closely with its dealers for the withdrawal of the said batch of cement.
Trade and Industry Assistant Secretary Merly M. Cruz said that DTI Regional Office 11, for its part, has already issued a memorandum to its provincial offices.
“We have already instructed our field offices to help us out in the recall of these defective Holcim Excel cement in bags. Our monitoring teams have been instructed to check the dealers and retailers in the provinces to ensure that none of the remaining stocks of this batch of cement is released to the market. Our Consumer Welfare and Trade Regulation Division (CWTRD) has also conducted the necessary inspections at the Holcim Davao plant to ensure that no similar incident will happen again,” Cruz said.
Cruz added that the company is willing to compensate whatever damage that its product may have caused.
Should consumers need DTI’s assistance, they just have to contact the CWTRD at (082) 224-0511 local 421. They may likewise reach Holcim Davao directly at (082) 238-0249 or at (0918) 945-5195 and look for Ms. Cecille Wong.
Source: [DTI-11]
