What Strength Is Made Of

We rarely see what holds our homes together. Concrete hides it. Paint finishes it off. By the time a family moves in, the bones of a house — the steel that keeps it standing — are already buried, unseen.

And that’s precisely the problem.

In 2023, the Philippine Iron and Steel Institute (PISI) found that nearly 4 out of 10 rebars sold in local markets failed to meet national standards. Some broke too early under stress tests. Others were made from melted scrap — the kind used in abandoned ships and junked appliances. Many bore fake or missing mill marks, leaving buyers with no way to trace where — or how — the steel was made.

Yet these rebars are everywhere. Hidden in foundations. Bent into beams. Sealed inside columns that rise proudly on social media. The same report says enough substandard steel is sold each month to build ten thousand homes. The danger may not dramatic — not the cinematic collapse, but the slow corrosion of integrity over time. A material quietly failing long before the home it supports does.

Rust begins small. So do shortcuts.

Steel can lose nearly 40% of its strength to corrosion before cracks appear. Epoxy coatings that are poorly applied can make it worse — trapping moisture and turning minor flaws into concentrated decay (think of a lightning rod for rust). And when you factor in our humidity, salt air, and the national appetite for “pwede na,” the equation becomes simple: we are building risk into the places meant to keep us safe.

There’s a moral corrosion too. When we normalize compromise, we teach the next generation of builders that quality is negotiable. We make beauty superficial — something to photograph, not to trust.

Integrity doesn’t announce itself.

It’s hidden — in the steel you don’t see, in the decisions no one posts.

That’s where real strength begins.