CEBU CITY -- City Hall suspended the work on a call center's building and ordered a background check on its contractor, in the second construction site accident to hit this city in less than three weeks.
A city councilor wants the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) and barangays to exert extra effort in monitoring construction activities.
City Mayor Tomas Osmeña admitted he doesn't want to disappoint the building's owner, Aegis People Support, as one of the biggest investors in the city.
He asked his consultants from the contractors' association to find out what caused the accident in the Asiatown IT Park.
The scaffolding and anchors for the third floor of the building gave way, reportedly when wet cement was poured on it.
The mayor asked for a background check on the contractor, DCD Construction Inc., and ordered the Office of the Building Official (OBO) to conduct a parallel investigation.
Acting Building Official Josefa Ylanan said the problem with some construction firms nowadays is not in their designs, but in their compliance with specifications set in the permits.
Ylanan said she will meet with all contractors in the city to get their commitment for the safety of their sites.
Section 308 of the National Building Code, she pointed out, states the supervising engineers should be at the sites to oversee the construction work.
"It seems that provision has been ignored, so we have to call their attention," Ylanan said. "Problema na gyud ni, nagsagunson na. It might be better to stop construction work if we fail to get a commitment from the contractors" regarding the site's and workers' safety.
Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council (CCDCC) Chairman Gerardo Carillo will meet Monday with the agencies that responded to the accident.
Carillo said he already received an initial account, but wants to hear first from the CCDCC, fire department and the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation.
Last Saturday night, part of the third floor of a building under construction in the Asiatown IT Park collapsed, hurting a 41-year-old construction worker.
Less than three weeks before that, a firewall of a building under construction also fell in Barangay Tisa, killing five workers.
Opposition congressional candidate Jonathan Guardo, in a press statement, said the collapse is a sign City Hall's management "has broken down." He accused the mayor of absenteeism.
"Now that the two buildings have collapsed, I just hope he will not pass the blame to the hapless OBO (Office of the Building Official)," Guardo said in his press statement.
Last Saturday's accident was the second to hit a construction site in the city since April 7, when a firewall on an unfinished department store in Barangay Tisa fell, killing five workers.
Osmeña, Guardo's rival for the south district's congressional seat, said his political opponent will be "sad to note" that he's up to date in his daily workload.
Worker
The Mabolo Police Station will wait for injured construction worker Jonathan Arquillano to decide if he will file a case against his employer, DCD Construction.
Arquillano's right leg was hurt after part of the third floor of the building, where he worked as a mason, collapsed.
Acting Mabolo Police Station Chief Pedro Cabildo said that until Sunday afternoon, Arquillano has not showed up at the police station to file a formal report.
Arquillano, the police confirmed, was the only one injured during the accident. He verified the information from one of the employees of the construction firm, from Perpetual Succour Hospital where the injured worker was brought, and from the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation, which drove the hurt mason to the hospital.
Should Arquillano decide to press charges, Cabildo said, the police can assist him.
Next steps
Councilor Edgardo Labella, in a draft resolution, said Dole should make sure occupational safety requirements set in the Labor Code are complied with.
Labella chairs the committee on laws, ordinances, public accountability and good governance.
The Labor Code requires construction firms to adopt measures and provide gadgets to ensure the safety of construction workers and the general public.
Labella also urged the OBO to come up with a profile of project sites in the city and check if these sites have valid development permits.
The OBO needs to "spur the active involvement of the barangay government officials in monitoring project sites in their communities," he said.
Barangay officials can check if the project sites have development permits, environmental compliance certificates, commercial or non-commercial hauling permits, and basic safety plans, among others. (PDF/JTG/ETB/Sun.Star Cebu)