DOLE rules: Gondola defective, overloaded

MANILA, Philippines - Overloading and defects in a gondola of a building under construction in Makati City caused the lift to collapse and led to the deaths of 10 workers, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) ruled yesterday.

Engineer Eric Igual, a member of the DOLE task force investigating the accident, said the gondola, which had been inspected and tested to be safe in the past, can only carry 630 kilos or a maximum of four persons.

“Overloading really caused the snapping of the rope holding the platform of the makeshift elevator,” he said.

DOLE’s safety and health engineer Connie Sto. Tomas said this time, they found cracks in both pulleys of the suspension mechanism and only two rope clips were installed. “The standard requirement is a minimum of three rope clips and the installation of the wire clips are improper,” she added.

Sto. Tomas said they also found no signage on the gondola indicating the number of allowable passengers, no daily inspection records on the gondola and no records of training of the gondola operator.

“The owner of the condominium also failed to present during the inspections approved safety and health program so there is no safety procedure for the operation of the gondola,” she said.

Maria Loraine Banzon, 21, the common-law wife of victim Ben Cristobal, said the project’s safety officer “should have prevented them (workers) from boarding the gondola” even if he was on lunch break.

However, Eton Properties contractors maintained that four of those killed in the accident were trained to operate the gondola and they knew that it should not be used to transport workers.

They also expressed willingness to comply with DOLE’s directive to undertake corrective measures for all safety and health as well as labor standard violations found in the construction site.

DOLE-National Capital Region (NCR) director said they also found out that construction workers of Eton were only getting P280 basic daily pay, way below the P404 daily minimum wage in Metro Manila.

According to DOLE arbitration officer Benjo Benavides, said construction has been suspended until the owner of the condominium building and the contractors correct their violations.

He said the contractors were given until Thursday to undertake the necessary corrective measures and submit to DOLE by Friday proof that they had taken action.

Failure to comply with the directive may also prompt DOLE to seek before the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) the suspension of the permit that would allow Eton to hire the services of new contractors to continue the construction of the condominium. – With Mike Frialde