DOLE stops works at mall construction site

CEBU CITY - The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) temporarily stopped all works at a mall construction project at the South Road Properties in Cebu City for safety reason, according to the Philippine News Agency.

Labor Regional Director Exequiel Sarcauga said they received a complaint from one of the workers of the construction project which prompted them to send an inspection team headed by Enginee Levi Custorio to the construction site.

Custorio, a Labor Law Compliance Officer, said they found some violations in the site and these include safety deficiencies under the Occupational Safety and Health Standards and also those covered by General Labor Standards.

“The primary reason why we issued a work stoppage order is the presence of imminent danger observed at the site upon the conduct of the compliance visit. The construction project site only uses monkey ladder and canopy structure, which serves as a scaffold and platform for its exterior works,” said Sarcauga, adding, the project’s exterior works, including cladding, painting, and roofing, among others, were also inspected.

Mercado Builders, Inc., the project manager of IL Corso Festival Mall Project, together with RBM Construction, its independent contractor, appeared at the DOLE office for the mandatory conference.

DOLE ordered the contractors, including Filinvest Land Inc., the owner of the project, to “cease and desist from all their exterior operations until such time that imminent danger is rectified.”