THE Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) 7 imposed a P100,000 fine against Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) and PLD Construction Development Inc. following the construction mishap in Brgy. Apas, Cebu City on May 22, 2021, that resulted in the death of one construction worker and the injury of another.
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CLI and PLD Construction Development Inc. are the project developer and contractor, respectively, of the collapsed condominium building, which the fatality Romeo Maniwan and the injured worker Abel Bautista were working on.
Dole 7 Director Salome Siaton, in a statement, said the P100,000 fine will be on top of the financial assistance that the developer and contractor (respondents) willingly offered the victims and their families.
Dole 7 called the respondents to a mandatory conference on Monday, May 24, after the work stoppage order was served at the project site on the same day.
Siaton said the respondents cannot resume their excavation works unless they are able to submit their Comprehensive Excavation Plan, Job Hazard Analysis and Signature for the Soil Protection Design to the department.
She said during the conference, the respondents presented a copy of the partial hospital billing for Bautista.
She said they also willingly extended financial assistance to the family of the late Romeo Maniwan amounting to P22,000 and groceries worth more than P14,000.
Maniwan and Bautista were reportedly trying to finish the rebars which serve as footing for Tower 4 at the construction site when the excavated area suddenly caved in.
Siaton said there should have been some soil protection installed since the excavated area was five meters deep.
“Upon the conduct of our Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Investigation at the site, our inspectors found out that their excavation methodology was not properly implemented,” she said.
Moreover, according to Emmanuel Ferrer, head of the Dole Tri-City Field Office, the lifting of the stoppage order can only be done once CLI and PLD Construction show proof of corrections showing compliance with the Health and Safety Standards at the project site.
CLI and PLD Construction Development Inc. will still have to submit a letter to Dole 7 requesting for the resumption of work on the affected area where soil protection must be installed to avoid the same incident from happening again.
While the work stoppage order is in effect, Dole 7 said respondents will pay their employees all the monetary benefits that they are entitled to for the duration of the stoppage order.
Meanwhile, PLD Construction in a statement on May 26, said it has settled the P100,000 penalty imposed by Dole and will continue to comply with the policies of the Office of the Building Official and Dole. (WBS)