SAFETY VIOLATIONS EYED

This tarpaulin is posted outside the Citi Hardware Liloan branch construction site. (CDN PHOTO/ MICHELLE JOY L. PADAYHAG)

Labor officials in Cebu eye possible safety violations in the construction of a wall of a warehouse in Lilo-an town that collapsed Friday and, as of yesterday, has claimed the life of two of the nine injured workers.

The absence of personal protective equipment for workers at a construction site is a clear violation of safety and health standards, stressed Department of Labor and Employment Central Visayas (Dole-7) Director Exequiel Sarcauga.

Sarcauga was reacting to a statement of an off-duty construction worker who, when interviewed by Cebu Daily News last Friday, admitted that they had no, nor were they given, protective gears when they constructed the 30-meter-high wall of a Citi Hardware warehouse that was being built in Barangay Cotcot, Liloan, Cebu, that collapsed Friday.

“That is a violation actually. Until such time that they will be able to provide that, we can’t let them go on (with the construction),” he told CDN in a phone interview on Saturday, referring to the issuance of a stoppage order against the contractor of the project.

Nine on-duty construction workers were hurt when the wall collapsed. One of them succumbed to injuries late on Friday and another at around 3 p.m. Saturday.

The fatalities were Lazaro Capa Jr., who died on Friday and identified by PO3 Jayson Gayo of the Lilo-an Municipal Police Office; and Elvin Cuba Bongo, 45, who succumbed to multiple injuries, according to his younger sister Arleen Barrios.

The interviewed construction worker, who requested anonymity, said they only wore shorts, T-shirts and slippers while working on the wall, the first vertical development of the warehouse being constructed in Lilo-an town by Citi Hardware, a national chain of home improvement warehouses.

Sarcauga, however, said that while there was clearly a violation of labor standards, he could not make formal directives yet until he gets the report from his labor law compliance officers (LLCO) deployed at the site to conduct an ocular inspection last Friday.

Also, Sarcauga said he did not know yet who the building contractor was, or if the contractor is accredited by the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB).

Billboard

A billboard at the construction site identified the project owner as Toril LCY Trading Corp. It also identified the project engineers as Leo Mabale, the civil engineer in charge of full-time inspection and supervision works; and Roberto Gore, the electrical engineer, mechanical engineer and master plumber of the project.

CDN tried to reach representatives from Citi Hardware for a statement, but efforts to talk to managers in calls made to several of its stores in Cebu all proved unsuccessful.

A call made by CDN to the Citi Hardware branch in Mandaue City was answered by a male worker who referred CDN to their Davao branch, which, he said, is the only branch allowed to respond to “complaints.”

When CDN called the Davao branch, a female worker advised this paper to call their Manila office, but the number she gave was out of reach.

No company representative?

Gayo said that except for the name of Capa, the Lilo-an police had no details about him and what caused his death.

He said Capa died while at the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Mendero Medical Center in Consolacion, the town that adjoins Lilo-an.

At that time, Gayo said that Bongo was also in ICU along with another worker identified as Lowel Batican. The four others who went through surgery for still unspecified injuries were Alex Rosal, Melvin Proburato, Rene Barrido and Condito Baculao.

Bongo was scheduled for a surgery but died before that, his sister said.

Gayo also said that another injured worker, Joel Procurato, was discharged from the hospital yesterday. However, he said they have yet to determine what happened to Antonio
Cuenza, who was also listed as among the injured.

“So far, no representatives from the company came over here as well as the relatives of the victims,” added Gayo, who was interviewed Saturday morning after he visited the hospital to investigate the matter.

Timekeeper

But Barrios, Bongo’s sister, said that most of the families of the victims were at the hospital and were assisted by an unnamed timekeeper of the construction firm, which, she said, also took care of the hospitalization and other expenses incurred by the injured.

Barrios said the company shouldered the hospital bills of her brother and promised to also take care of his funeral expenses. “A timekeeper from the company was here and coordinated with us. We are still waiting for him to come back for further details,” Barrios told Cebu Daily News.

Bongo, of Tabok, Maslog, Danao City, was the sole breadwinner of his family and left behind four small children and a sickly wife, Barrios said.

Barrios said her brother was found to have a blood clot in his head and suffered from an injury on his right leg. “He was scheduled to have his operation this afternoon (Saturday). Unfortunately, he is already gone,” she added.

As of the moment, she said their family could not yet decide if they would file a case against the company.

“We just want to focus on our brother first,” Barrios said.

As of 7:20 p.m. yesterday, Bongo was still at the morgue. Barrios said that they are still waiting for the timekeeper since they have arranged the funeral at St. Peter Chapel in Danao City.

Who is the contractor?

Gayo, meanwhile, said that Lilo-an police would still investigate the cause of the incident and would coordinate with the municipal engineering office of Lilo-an in their probe.

During a visit to the site on Friday afternoon, reporters were barred from entering the construction site.

Sarcauga said whatever would be the liability or sanction to be imposed on the construction firm or the owner of the building, it would be decided by other entities, such as the PCAB.

“As to sanctions or discipline (to be meted to the contractor), the PCAB will take care of that,” said Sarcauga.

Once he gets the findings, Sarcauga said he will schedule a conference with the contractor, most likely on Monday.

But he stressed that while they looked into the reason for the incident, their main concern was the health and safety of workers.

“At the time of the construction, was there a safety officer deployed? These are the things we will look into since these are necessary requirements,” he said.

If any of the health and safety requirements is lacking, the construction works will be stopped until such time that they comply with the deficiencies, he added.

Sarcauga said the corrective measures are a must to prevent the occurrence of similar incidents in the future.

Last August, Dole-7 also issued a stoppage order against the contractor of a condominium project in Barangay Labangon, Cebu City, when the project’s retaining wall fell on and killed a 22-year-old construction worker.

The condominium contractor, following a conference with Dole-7, committed to comply with all deficiencies related to the health and safety of its
workers.