MANILA, Philippines – Calling the Kentex factory fire “a tragedy waiting to happen,” President Aquino said local officials of Valenzuela City and other individuals should be held accountable for the disaster that claimed the lives of 72 workers last May 13.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II said criminal and administrative charges could lead all the way up to city Mayor Rex Gatchalian since it is a department under the mayor’s office that issues business permits.
Some of those recommended charged were Ong King Guan and Terrence King Ong, owners of Kentex Manufacturing Corp., welder Oscar Romero and driver Nino Divino Provido.
In a nationally televised press conference, Aquino said those who did not follow the country’s laws should be made accountable.
“For instance, the local government unit, you know that fire safety inspection certificate is a requirement but you gave it (Kentex) a permit (without it)… also certificate of occupancy,” the President said, citing the two as among the many violations of the factory, along with the lack of automatic fire sprinkler system and adequate fire escape.
“That is an established fact. Therefore, the next step will be a preliminary investigation, which is a necessary process under our system of laws leading to charges,” the President said.
Aquino said they would have to crack the whip now and start inspecting the more than 300,000 establishments in the National Capital Region to ensure the tragedy would not be repeated.
He cited that out of the 23 buildings inspected in Valenzuela City, none passed the fire safety requirements and that one of them even had to be closed forcibly.
The President said the tragedy could have been avoided had concerned officials and individuals followed the law instead of making shortcuts.
“We have 72 dead. They should not have died,” Aquino said.
“We need to bring out the whip and say, ‘You have an obligation and if you neglect your obligation there is a corresponding penalty’,” the President said in Filipino.
Aquino said authorities were also eyeing falsification of public documents as a possible charge.
“The cases will be overlapping. At the end of the day, to control the unscrupulous, we need to file appropriate charges and send them to jail. That is our goal here,” the President said, noting that there had been no diligent inspection of establishments from 1996 up to this year.
“That is quite a long time. We will also correct the processes. Maybe there should be a check on the checkers,” Aquino said.
De Lima, who was present during the President’s press conference at the Kalayaan Hall of the Palace, told reporters that she would create a special panel of prosecutors and members of the legal staff to review the report of the inter-agency task force comprising the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation.
De Lima said they were looking at criminal and administrative charges like violation of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for local government officials for undue injury and neglect as well as reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and multiple physical injuries for other individuals.
During the press conference, the lapses committed were shown through graphics and scale model of the factory. The factory was found to have no protected fire exits.
He said the factory had no fire detection and alarm system and that the welder was allowed to do repairs close to combustible chemicals or super cell blowing agent.
“When you do hot works like welding, the fire marshal also has to conduct an inspection,” the President said.
In his presentation, BFP chief Ariel Barayuga cited the lack of sprinkler system as well as a secondary stairwell.
A sprinkler system could have cleared the thick smoke from the fire while a secondary stairwell could have provided an escape route for trapped workers.
Aquino said that after an inspection in 2014, the BFP made known to local officials Kentex’s fires safety lapses.
Aquino said Roxas would meet with Metro Manila mayors to discuss ways to ensure establishments’ compliance with safety standards.
He said the Department of Labor and Employment was investigating the Labor Code violations of the factory while the Department of Social Welfare and Development would provide necessary assistance to affected families.
“One of the (issues) I want them to answer is about the manpower agency supposedly owned by a 19-year-old student,” the President said, adding this was highly questionable.
The President said there would be a whole range of assistance for the victims and their families, the most immediate of which would be daily subsistence.
“But at the end of the day, if they need re-training to get into other jobs, that could also be done (through) the help of TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority), amongst others,” Aquino said.
For her part, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz urged Congress to fast-track pending bills criminalizing non-compliance and violations of Occupational Safety and Health Standards. She added the sub-contractor of Kentex could also be held liable because it was not allowed by law to engage in such labor service.
BFP hit
Gatchalian, meanwhile, lamented pronouncements from investigators of the Kentex fire that the city government should not have issued permit to the slipper manufacturer.
He said memorandum circulars issued in 2010, 2011, and 2012 by the DILG, the Department of Trade and Industry and the BFP authorize local government units to issue provisional permits.
Based on one of the circulars, the BFP should regularly conduct fire safety inspection of establishments and recommend whether to revoke or renew their permit.
“It is unfortunate that despite the detailed and legally grounded position paper submitted by city hall officials, the IATF (Anti-Arson Task Force) chose to ignore their argument and sided with the BFPs position that Kentex Manufacturing should have not been given a business permit since it has no Fire Safety Inspection Certificate (FSIC) issued by the local fire marshall,” Gatchalian said.
He said there are no records to show that the BFP had inspected the Kentex factory prior to the fire that killed 72 people.
“If they found a compliance list then why did they not endorse it to us?” he said.
Gatchalian said the BFP may have been overwhelmed by the sheer number of registered establishments that needed to be inspected.
He said this was the reason the joint DILG-DTI circular states “that inspections usually undertaken for compliance with zoning and environment ordinances, building and fire safety, health and sanitation regulations undertaken during construction phase shall not be conducted again by the LGU as part of the requirements for business registration.”
On the possibility that charges would be filed against city executives, he said it would be up to the DOJ to determine if they are liable for any offense.
“I don’t really know about it but as far as the LGU is concerned we stick to the law,” he said. Rey Galupo, Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star)
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