Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino vowed action on the deadly building collapse in Angeles City, Pampanga on his first day in office Tuesday, disclosing that the construction site had previously been issued a work stoppage order by the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Region 3 office—an order that was later lifted before Sunday’s fatal incident.
Tolentino, speaking in a Tuesday morning interview on DZRH’s “Damdaming Bayan,” said he was already looking into the collapse even before formally arriving at the DOLE central office, and that he expected to take action on the matter by 10 a.m. that day.
“Ngayon po, nakatutok naman po ako ngayon doon sa nangyari sa Angeles,” he said, adding that the site had been given both a permit and a work stoppage order by DOLE Region 3, but that the order was eventually lifted.
Tolentino said the collapse was linked to a violation of occupational safety regulations, specifically the construction of workers’ barracks inside the building that was still under construction.
“Bawal po talagang gumawa ng barracks doon sa loob ng gusaling ginagawa,” he said, explaining that workers housed in a separate barracks located five meters away from the structure were safe, while those in the illegally placed barracks inside the building were trapped.
He also noted that an unpermitted swimming pool had been installed on the 10th floor of the structure, compounding the regulatory violations at the site.
The building, located in Barangay Balibago, collapsed between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. on Sunday, May 25, with 47 workers inside at the time, according to the Bureau of Fire Protection.
As of 10:30 a.m. on Monday, at least four people had been confirmed dead and 17 remained trapped or missing, while 26 had been rescued, according to the Angeles City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the BFP.
