P380,000 a Day: DOLE Fines Companies Responsible for Skyway Accident
The construction firms responsible for the collapse of a steel girder at the Skyway Extension project last month have been fined a total of P380,000 a day by the Department of Labor and Employment.
Confirming a report published by GMA News, listed EEI Corporation said the company and its subcontractors Machinery Rentrade Inc and Bauer Foundations Philippines Inc. were ordered to pay an administrative fine of “P170,000 for every day of non-compliance” starting from receipt of the order signed by DOLE-National Capital Region director Sarah Buena Mirasol.
One person died and four people were injured when a construction crane fell onto a girder spanning two posts of the Skyway extension segment along East Service Road in Parañaque last November 21. Steel bars fell on three vehicles and three motorcycles.
According to GMA News, which cited the signed order by Mirasol, the DOLE also ordered EEI to submit “reportorial requirements as prescribed in the Occupational Safety and Health Standards, which also impose a P30,000 fine per day until full compliance.”
In addition, EEI was ordered to pay P100,000 for “death, serious injury or serious illness” and required it to submit a third party inspection certificate, of which it is fined P40,000 a day until it complies.
The subcontractors were also ordered to pay fines: P80,000 to Mayon Machinery and P130,000 to Bauer Foundations Philippines Inc. per day of non-compliance, respectively. Mayon was ordered to submit an Occupational Safety and Health Program and safety guidelines and procedure on crane operations, while Bauer is required to have additional fire extinguishers, safety signages, directional signages, and submit a proof of clear access for workers and employees.
“[Kung] hindi mababayaran kasi naga-accumulate, nagmu-multiply ‘yan by the day. So halimbawa since the fine is now P380,000 upon receipt....‘pag nag-fail sila mabayaran upon receipt, lumipas pa ng isang araw, then another P380,000. ‘Pag hindi pa rin on the second, on the third day, another P300k, that's how it works,” GMA News quoted DOLE Information and Public Service Director Rolly Francia during a virtual press conference.
San Miguel Corp President and COO Ramon Ang, whose San Miguel Infrastructure is the proponent of the Skyway project, issued an apology and promised to offer assistance to the victims.He alaso said the opening of Skyway has been delayed to February next year.
