ONE of the three men who got injured in a fall in a construction site on N. Bacalso Ave., Barangay Pahina Central, Cebu City had surgery on his abdomen in Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) last Friday.
Ricky Catubig, 26, from Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City fell from the second floor of a building under construction.
Two of his co-workers also fell but grabbed steel cables. They suffered minor injuries.
Catubig’s mother, Flordelis Tubilla, said her son had his operation last Friday night. They were given financial assistance by the company who had hired her son.
“Sila gyu’y mobayad. Sila lay mopalit, ug naa’y mga reseta, silay nipalit unya sa dugo, silay nangita (They paid for the medicines, they looked for blood),” Tubilla said.
“Ang ilahang building dili gyod maayo pagkapundasyon. Dili maayo ang ilahang mga metal nga gipanggamit (The building doesn’t have a strong foundation. They used substandard materials),” she alleged.
Tubilla also said that her son needs to undergo other other operations, as he also suffered injuries that affected his head and eyes.
A co-worker of Catubig, who asked not to be identified, said they were not wearing safety gear at the time of the incident.
“Tinood nga wala’y safety, pero mas maayo seguro nga walay safety kay kung naay safety daghan kaayong patay (But it was good that there was no safety gear, otherwise more could have died),” he said.
He explained that if one of them wears a safety belt, he has to be linked to other workers who would have been dragged with him during the fall. He said their safety officers are not always present at the site. He said work was rushed at the site, and that they don’t have benefits, such as Philhealth, SSS and Pagibig. (USJ-R Intern John Paul Fajardo)