The Angeles City Government has created a multi-agency fact-finding committee, tasked to conduct a full and impartial investigation into the collapse of an under-construction building in Barangay Balibago, as authorities move to determine accountability for the tragedy that claimed several lives.
Mayor Carmelo “Jon” Lazatin II announced the issuance of an executive order establishing the committee to identify the causes of the May 24, 2026 tragedy.
The fact-finding committee will be chaired by the City Administrator, with the City Legal Officer serving as vice chairperson.
The group's members include representatives from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Environment and Natural Resources–Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers, Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines, United Architects of the Philippines, Angeles City Police Office, and members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
The committee has been directed to review permits, building plans, inspection reports, and other project-related documents.
The probe team will also conduct site inspections, technical assessments, witness interviews, and evidence gathering as part of what city officials described as a transparent and comprehensive investigation.
Lazatin stressed that no one would be exempted from scrutiny.
“Whoever is involved in this tragedy, all of them will be held accountable. I will make sure the truth comes out,” Lazatin said.
As part of the ongoing investigation, two officials from the Office of the City Building Official (OCBO) were placed under 60-day preventive suspension.
The suspended officials are Architect Normand Lagman, City Building Officer; and Engineer Marlon Lingat, City Structural Engineer.
Lawyer Darwin Reyes, legal adviser of the local government fact-finding committee, said that based on the 2025 Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service (RACCS), a government employee maybe suspended while an investigation, in connection with grave misconduct or gross neglect of duty, is being conducted.
The preventive suspension will take effect from June 1 and may remain in force for up to 60 days, or until July 30, 2026.
The city government has recorded nine fatalities recovered from the collapsed building as of Sunday afternoon, May 31, 2026. (Tristan Jingco)
