GMA releases statement on Labor department's Eddie Garcia accident probe
MANILA, Philippines — Media giant GMA Network Inc. has recently released a statement, saying that it is fully cooperating with the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) investigation on the death of veteran actor Eddie Garcia while shooting a scene for a now shelved soap opera.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the network added that it has not yet received any order from the Labor department.
"This is to inform the Exchange that the Company has been fully cooperating in the investigation of the DOLE. However, as of this writing, we have not received any order or resolution from DOLE regarding the aforementioned matter," GMA said in its statement.
For their part, DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III said they are still waiting for the report from their regional office investigating the death of the veteran actor.
In the Congress, Eddie’s step son, 1-PACMAN party-list Rep. Michael Romero, filed last July the House Bill 191, known as the Actors Occupational Safety and Health Standard Bill or the "Eddie Garcia Act," which requires safety and medical personnel deployment during work hours.
Eddie died last June 20 after 12 days of battling in the hospital due to a bad fall on the set of “Rosang Agimat.” He died due to complications from “cervical vertebrae fracture,” Makati Medical Center spokesman Dr. Tony Rebosa said.
Early this month, in an interview with the press following a forum on Wednesday, Bello confirmed to reporters that GMA fell short in complying with DOLE’s requirement to have a safety officer looking over every activity in the entertainment industry.
“There was lack of compliance with the requirement that in every activity there should be a safety officer… They didn’t have one. Otherwise, Eddie Garcia would not have died,” Bello said partly in Filipino.
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