Keeping up with the Dutertes

By Tonyo Cruz, Manila Bulletin, Jan 5, 2017

Investigations are said to continue over the NCCC Mall inferno that killed 38 workers. The people of Davao City are in shock, and workers everywhere look at what the government would do to give justice to victims and to ensure workplace safety.

Manila Bulletin reported this week that the investigations have led to the relief of following officials: Senior Fire Officer 1 Leo Lauzon, the fire safety Inspector of SSI Office; Senior Fire Officer 2 Joel Quizmundo, the Fire Safety Inspector of NCCC Mall; Senior Fire Officer 1 Roger Dumag, Chief of the Fire Safety Section of Davao City; Inspector Renero Jimenez, the Station Commander of SIR Fire Station; Superintendent Honee Fritz Alagano, the District Fire Marshal of Davao City.

NCCC endorser and ambassador Sara Duterte has claimed that detractors and enemies of her family are maliciously tying her and her father to the mall inferno.

Sara, who is described in NCCC publicity materials as “infamous,” has so far failed to explain why the city government she has led since 2016 allowed the NCCC Mall to operate although it violates the fire and building codes.

Her father Rodrigo, who as president reportedly wept in his visit to relatives of the fire victims, has not been able to explain and show steps he made as Davao City mayor in 2013-2016 to make sure NCCC Mall complied with fire and building codes.

Paolo Duterte, the father of Imee Marcos-wannabee Isabelle, was elected vice mayor in 2016 alongside NCCC endorser and ambassador Sara.

Reliable sources say the owners of the NCCC have long supported the Dutertes.

In the aftermath of the incident, Sara, Paolo, and Rodrigo Duterte have not disclosed all material and financial donations given to them individually and to their local political party by the owners of NCCC Mall.

It is also not clear whether Sara will quit her NCCC ambassadorship in the aftermath of the fire. She just insisted that foes of the Dutertes are using the incident to score political points.

President Duterte, Mayor Sara Duterte, and resigned Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte all have made claims to making the local government of Davao one of the best and most incorruptible in all of the country. This is the bedrock of their claimed political history.

Elsewhere, three labor groups have crossed ideological lines to assail the NCCC Mall, BPO company SSI, and the Duterte dynasty over their failure to ensure workplace safety.

The BPO Industry Employees Network, the Kilusang Mayo Uno, and the Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines are all demanding justice for the workers who perished in the fire.

In a statement released Friday, KMU Vice President Lito Ustarez assailed President Duterte “for condoning his crony’s gross disregard for workers lives through the DOLE’s policy of voluntary compliance on Labor Laws and by allowing PEZA to shield employers from labor laws.”

Like Noynoy Aquino, Rodrigo Duterte allows companies to merely claim “voluntary compliance” with workplace safety rules. Both Aquino and Duterte refuse to impose strict monitoring by labor officials.

The KMU leader said both Sara and Rodrigo Duterte should be held accountable “for allowing the mall and BPO to operate despite its gross violations of the fire code and occupational safety and health standards for 13 years.

Ustarez claimed that Lim Tian Siu, owner of SSI and NCCC mall, is known to be a close crony of the Duterte political dynasty in Davao.

“No wonder this tough talking President remains mum over his crony’s responsibility for SSI workers’ deaths. All he could do was shed crocodile tears and hypocritically call for an investigation which actually only aims to free Lim Tian Siu, the Davao LGU, the DOLE, the PEZA and his administration from any accountability,” said Ustarez.

The people of Davao and workers across the country should demand that local and national agencies make sure that malls, schools, factories, and workplaces comply with the fire and building codes. This is a demand that knows no political color. A fire doesn’t choose its victims.

The Dutertes cannot blame others for this man-made tragedy that appears to have been caused by a mixture of ineptitude, corruption and patronage, as well as the insatiable greed of capitalists.

The Dutertes have been in power in Davao since 1986. Their claims to fame include having the best LGU and also best mayor ever. They also profess to be pro-poor and pro-worker. The elder Rodrigo even claimed to be a leftist and a socialist.

The NCCC fire burned down many of these claims.

The investigations continue. Regardless of our politics, it is up to us to make sure there’s no whitewashing of the case. Otherwise, more officials would corrupt their public offices, and more companies would expose workers to dangers at work.