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Renalyn Ramirez - Philstar.com
June 16, 2026 | 5:43pm
MANILA, Philippines — Makabayan bloc representatives urged the House Committee on Labor and Employment to investigate the Angeles City building collapse that resulted in the death of 30 workers, with the aim of amending the country’s existing occupational safety and health law.
The resolution filed by ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Elago and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co on Tuesday, June 16, seeks the help of Congress in conducting an inquiry in aid of legislation to unravel the real cause of the incident and give justice to the victims.
The end goal, according to the resolution, is to criminalize violations of Republic Act No. 11058 or the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Law.
“Nananawagan tayo ng imbestigasyon, review sa Occupational Safety and Health Act at kailangang balikan natin kung paano ba talaga napoprotektahan ang kaligtasan ng mga manggagawa,” Tinio said.
(We are calling for an investigation, review of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and a review of how we are really protecting the welfare of workers.)
The lawmaker also demanded justice for the victims and accountability from the owners, as well as government agencies responsible for implementing building standards, adding that criminal liability is necessary to avoid the same incident in the future.
“Mag-iisang buwan na at hindi pa rin lumalabas ang anumang report o initial report sa publiko na kaugnay sa nangyari. Hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin malinaw kung bakit ba nangyari ‘yung insidente at sino ang responsible or accountable dito,” Tinio said.
(It has been almost a month, and there has not been any report related to the incident released to the public. Until now, it is still unclear why the incident happened, and who is responsible or accountable.)
Owners nowhere to be found
The owners and contractors of the building haven’t reached out to the families of the victims yet, said Bea Bermejo, whose husband was one of the workers killed in the incident.
“Nananawagan ako sa may-ari, sa contractor na sana naman siya’y magpakita sa amin, sa pamilya ng biktima. At sana naman ay mabigyan ng hustisya ang mga biktima,” Bermejo said.
(We are appealing to the owners, the contractors, please reach out to us, the families of the victims. And I hope the victims will be given justice.)
Bermejo shared that some families of the victims have already buried their dead loved ones without a proper funeral service due to a lack of financial means, since the owners and contractors of the building have not given them any help yet.
“Sana naman po makipagtulungan sila sa pamilya ng mga nabiktima ng kanilang building na nag-collapse,” Bermejo added.
(I hope they will coordinate with the families of the victims of their collapsed building.)
Bermejo also recalled that her partner once shared to her that the workers did not personally see the owners and contractors of the building as they only visited the site on Saturdays to deliver workers’ wages.
Now, they could not even approach the camp of the owners and contractors to ask for help, Bermejo said.
“Paano lalapit? Wala naman po sila. Hindi naman sila nagpapakita. Ang sinasabi lang nila ‘yung attorney nila. Malay ba namin kung sinong attorney ‘yan,” Bermejo said.
(How can we approach them? They are nowhere to be found. They are not showing themselves. They only point to their lawyers. We don’t even know who their lawyers are.)
Unsafe workplace kills 1 worker per day
Progressive labor organization Kilusang Mayo Uno, as well as the Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Development (IOHSAD), expressed support for the call to criminalize occupational safety and health law violations, citing that at least one worker per day gets killed in unsafe working conditions.
According to Ka Pol Viuya, vice chairperson of Kilusang Mayo Uno Central Luzon, they are hoping for the amendment of the current occupational safety and health law as hundreds of cases of deaths related to unsafe working conditions have already been recorded last year.
“Sa records namin ay around 369 na kataong manggagawa related sa construction industry ang namatay dito at halos 600 o 560 ‘yung naitala namin na nasugatan nitong nakaraang taon. Kaya inaasahan namin na ma-review ito at ma-amyendahan,” Ka Pol said.
Nadia De Leon of IOHSAD backed up this claim, saying that the incident in Angeles only proved that an immediate action to ensure workers’ safety is needed.
“Tama po si Ka Pol. Isang manggagawa kada araw po ang namamatay…Ngayon po nais naming matigil na ‘yang cycle of neglect sa occupational health and safety rights ng ating mga manggagawa,” De Leon said.
(Ka Pol is right. One worker a day gets killed [due to unsafe working conditions]... Now we want to stop the cycle of neglect on the occupational health and safety rights of our workers.)
