By Lloyd Caliwan
MANILA, (PNA) — Parañaque City police and city government officials are looking into the cause of the fatal accident in a hospital construction site in the city where an improvised scaffolding collapsed Wednesday, causing the death of one construction worker and the serious injuries to eight others.
Atty. Fernando Soriano, Parañaque City Administrator, said he has ordered the City Building Official and the City Engineering Office to look into the cause of the incident to determine whether there were any safety lapses on the part of the contractor and the building owners.
“We will look into this incident closely to determine what went wrong and to institute corrective measures so that this does not happen again,” he said.
Police said the incident occurred at 8:30 a.m. at the site of the Premier Medical Center which is being constructed at the AMVEL Compound in Barangay San Isidro, Parañaque.
The fatality was identified as Diego Reponte, 37, a mason and a resident of Multinational Village in Bgy. Moonwalk, Parañaque. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Olivarez Hospital.
Initial police investigation showed that the workers were doing masonry works on the 6th and 7th floor of the building when an improvised hanging scaffolding or gondola collapsed due to the weight of the workers.
Reponte, who was working on the 7th floor, died almost immediately due to the injuries he sustained from the fall.
The injured victims were identified as Rodrigo Vasquez, 36; Rey Rebojo, 41; Eduardo Romano, 53; Edwin Galan, 35; Rodel Rubios, 21; Victor Agboya, 32; John Albert Cabael, 21; and Crisanto Sorela, 29, all construction laborers.
All the casualties were brought to the Olivarez General Hospital and the Dr. Florencio V. Bernabe Sr. Memorial Hospital where the injured victims were listed in stable condition after sustaining multiple bruises, contusions and bone fractures.
Soriano said they would like to determine whether the project has an occupational safety permit from the Department of Labor and Employment, among others.
“Safety should be our foremost concern. We will give the contractors and project owners enough time to present us their safety plans with regards to the construction of the Premier Medical Center,” he said.