Fire risk checks on Metro Manila establishments begin June 8

Bea Cupin

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The inspection teams will visit at least two establishments every day, and spend at least 4 hours in each, says Interior Secretary Mar Roxas

NCR CHECKS. Interior Secretary Mar Roxas meetings mayors of the different Metro Manila LGUs on Tuesday, June 2. Photo by Rappler

MANILA, Philippines – An “abbreviated” inspection of “high-risk” industrial facilities in Metro Manila is set to begin Monday, June 8, in the aftermath of a factory fire in Valenzuela City that claimed the lives of 72 workers.

In a press conference at Camp Crame on Tuesday, June 2, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II said a team – composed of personnel from the Bureau of Fire Prevention (BFP), the labor department, the mayor’s office, and the Philippine National Police (PNP) – will begin inspecting “high-risk” companies for compliance with fire safety regulations.

Each team will inspect at least two establishments every day and will devote at least 4 hours in each establishment. By June’s end, Roxas said, the checks are expected to be completed.

“If there are capitalists, company owners who don’t do their duty to provide a safe working environment for their workers, then our local chief executives are here to ensure the safety of our workers,” he told reporters in Filipino.

Roxas, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis Tolentino, BFP officials, and mayors of the 17 local government units in the National Capital Region or their representatives met at the PNP headquarters on Tuesday to discuss the review of the fire permits of some 300,000 establishments in the Philippine metro.

“Industrial facilities” are those with the most workers.

The review comes 3 weeks after a huge blaze gutted the Kentex Manufacturing Corporation factory in Valenzuela City. The company was found to have violated fire safety standards, among them the absence of an automatic sprinkler system and proper fire exits.

The fire, based on the investigation of the BFP and the PNP, was started when sparks from a welding job lit combustible materials that were also stored in the same factory. Seventy-two workers died because of the blaze, most of them burnt beyond recognition.

Roxas and the NCR chief executives are set to meet two weeks from now, again to discuss the review of companies in the Philippine capital region.

Local government untis (LGUs)that have completed or are close to completing checks on factories in their jurisdiction will move on to inspect other high-density establishments, such as dormitories and pension houses, said Roxas. 

Liability of mayors?

One thing not discussed during the meeting in Camp Crame was the possible liability of mayors in situations such as the fire in Kentex. In a press briefing on Monday, President Benigno Aquino III said Valenzuala officials, along with company owners, face possible charges.

The President said the Valenzuela city hall should not have given Kentex a business permit because it had yet to secure a fire safety inspection certificate (FSIC) from the BFP. Officials also found that factories surrounding Kentex – 23 of them – violated fire safety codes.  (READ: We’ll make culprits pay for Valenzuela deaths – Roxas)

But Valenzuela, headed by Mayor Rex Gatchalian, insist that the BFP is to blame for the fire.

“Mayor Gatchalian asked about he possible liabilities. I told him that now is not the time to talk about liabilities. I’m not a lawyer and neither is he. The Department of Justice will be the one to decide on the legal liabilities over what happened in Valenzuela,” Roxas told reporters.

Gatchalian was among the mayors who left Camp Crame early following the meeting. Other mayors stayed behind and flanked Roxas during the press conference. All NCR LGUs were represented by either their chief executives or their deputies.

Jobs at stake

Establishments found to have “severe” fire safety violations are in danger of being shut down, Roxas warned.

“We’re trying to balance the interest of the worker, who should work in a safe environment, and the need of the worker to have a decent job.” He said that government cannot allow “fire traps” to continue to exist.

Should a company with “severe” violations be forced to shut down, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will hold a census of displaced workers and hand out food provisions for those who will lose their jobs temporarily.

If early checks are to be the basis, many NCR factories are anything but compliant with safety standards. One company near Kentex, for example, has to be shut down since it had gross violations – officials found shanties for workers inside the compound itself. “It was really an accident waiting to happen,” said the interior secretary.

Roxas said a check of “industrial facilities” would not be too difficult. At the bare minimum, these establishments must have well-made fire exits, at least one fire extinguisher for every 75 square meters, and a sprinkler system.

Companies, Roxas said, can easily remedy any violations: they can rent water tankers and install a sprinkler system, or at the very least purchase more extinguishers.

According to BFP Fire Chief Director Ariel Barayuga, companies will be given time should they fall short of fire safety standards – from within 24 hours to 15 days, depending on the gravity of the violation. – Rappler.com

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Bea Cupin

Bea is a senior multimedia reporter who covers national politics. She's been a journalist since 2011 and has written about Congress, the national police, and the Liberal Party for Rappler.