Engr. Yosefa Ylanan, head of the Office of the Building Official (OBO) in Cebu City, immediately ordered the suspension of all projects undertaken by J.E. Abraham C. Lee Construction and Devleopment Inc. following the collapse of a bunkhouse, which housed more than 160 construction workers in Barangay Lahug on Tuesday.
Cebu City Legal Officer Joseph Bernaldez said they found out that the contractor has no business permit since 2001, and that it also failed to secure another permit to construct a bunkhouse.
“Under the Building Code, contractors have to secure permits for its bunkhouses. The way you look at it, its bunkhouse is not really for workers, but a storage room for construction materials,” he said.
Bernaldez urged the Department of Labor and Employment in Central Visayas (DOLE-7) to determine whether the contractor complied with the safety protocols.
Both the OBO in Cebu City and the DOLE-7 are conducting separate investigations regarding the collapse.
The incident caused the death of five workers, who were identified as Iveen Villarin, 23, of Langtad, City of Naga; Jason Bacalso, 22, Langtad, City of Naga; Francisco Diapera, 45, of Pag-asa, Lutopan, Toledo City, all from Cebu province; Carlos Caliwa, 61, Manjuyod, Negros Oriental; and Crisenciano Silomen, 57, Kauswagan, Trinidad, Bohol.