MANILA -- Two people died and 11 others were injured after a portion of a high-end condominium building under construction in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City collapsed on Wednesday.
Bureau of Working Condition Director Catherine Legados-Parado said initial investigation showed the two victims died on the spot when a shoring on the second floor of a building safe on which concrete was being poured collapsed around 8:20 a.m. Wednesday.
Aside from the fatalities, 11 others were injured and brought to the St. Luke's Medical Center Global City for treatment.
“The workers who got killed were at the bottom of the shoring serving as look-outs,” Parado said.
After the incident, the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) ordered a work stoppage at the construction site.
“Our occupational safety and health investigators had already served our work stoppage order and we have met with the Makati Development Corporation (MDC) safety officer,” Dole-National Capital Region (NCR) Director Alex Avila said.
MDC is the general contractor of The Suites.
Avila said the site has a Construction Safety and Health Program that the Dole approved on January 24.
A labor group, however, is blaming the Dole for the loss of lives and injuries.
"Officials of the Dole and the Taguig City officials are obviously sleeping on the job. This workplace incident could have been minimized and prevented if they only performed their job particularly in conducting inspections regularly before and after issuing building and construction permits," said Alan Tanjusay, spokesperson of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz expressed sympathy to the families of those who died and assured the families of the fatalities and those who were injured of government assistance.
“I condole with the families of the dead and injured workers. I assure them of our assistance. I also assure them we will those accountable for the accident answerable for this unnecessary, and totally avoidable, accident,” she said.
At the same time, the Dole chief reminded building developers, construction companies, and their subcontractors not to take lightly nor disregard construction safety, and ensure that their workplaces are healthy and safe.
“Safety and health in construction is no trivial matter. It is a matter of life and death,” Baldoz said. (Third Anne Peralta/FP/Sunnex)