Solid Cement drops petition

Solid Cement drops petition against DTI

Solid Cement Corp, one of the Philippine units of Cemex, has withdrawn a petition it filed before the Court of Appeals questioning the authority of the Department of Trade and Industry from pursuing a case that prevents the company from selling and distributing Island cement. But despite this, the case filed by the Bureau of Trade Regulation and Consumer Protection (BTRCP) against Solid Cement would still be pursued, Atty. Pedro Vicente Mendoza, a special prosecutor of the DTI, said.

Mendoza explained that the preliminary order served last August 12 against Solid Cement was more of a preventive measure to protect the consumers from buying Island cement until confidence in the product’s quality has been re-established.

“Given that we have test results showing that certain products of Solid Cement failed to meet prescribed standards before, DTI issued the preventive order until it can be ascertained that the quality of the cement currently being sold is not the same as those of the samples that have earlier failed the tests of the BRS [Bureau of Research and Standards],” Mendoza said.

The CDO against Solid Cement was partially lifted on September 9 allowing the company to sell Island Cement coming from the company’s plant except the warehouse and silo 4. The 28-day testing period for the cement from the companies warehouse and silo 4 expired Monday.