EDITORIAL - Safety regulations

The Cebu City Office of Building Official (OBO) was quick to suspend the operations of a construction company whose bunkhouse in Barangay Lahug collapsed Tuesday dawn killing at least five of its workers and injuring 55 others.

The OBO ordered a stop to all projects undertaken by JE Abraham C. Lee Construction and Development Inc. Authorities have found out that the firm has no permit for the construction of the bunkhouse.

The construction firm may face legal charges after the head of city's business permit and licensing section discovered that it failed to secure a building permit for the construction of the bunkhouse, which reportedly has a weak foundation.

For its part, the firm took full responsibility for the incident, saying it will ready assistance for the victims. It vowed to cooperate with the authorities in the investigation and will review its safety policies and practices.

Tuesday's incident was just the latest addition to the already long list of untoward incidents involving construction workers around the Metro Cebu. Last year, a worker fell to his death from the 15th floor of a building being constructed at the corner of Leon Kilat Street and Sanciangko Street in Cebu City.

With construction projects now mushrooming around the metro, the Lahug incident will certainly not be the last. There will always be fatal incidents at construction sites as long as safety measures for workers continue to be disregarded.

Of course, some concerned government agencies are also to blame. The fact that several construction firms continue disregarding safety rules only means there's no religious monitoring by the authorities.

Unless companies realize the importance of obeying safety regulations for their workers and authorities implement a strict compliance, we are always bound to witness more deaths at construction sites.