The family of Francis Anzures, a construction worker who died in an accident at a housing project’s building site in Barangay Balingasa, Quezon City, on Tuesday, was assured by a party list that they will receive justice for what transpired.
“Nakikidalamhati kami sa naulilang pamilya ni Francis Anzures, ang construction worker na namatay dahil sa isang workplace safety incident sa isang social housing project site ng Quezon City. Nakikiramay din kami sa sampung nasugatan sa insidente at sa kani-kanilang mga pamilya,” Construction Workers Solidarity (CWS) party-list Representative Edwin L. Gardiola said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the police, barangay health personnel brought Azures, 45, and 10 other men to Quezon City General Hospital. But around 9:40 a.m., Azures was already dead. Ten others received treatment for what appear to be minor wounds. The police said the victims were abruptly struck by scaffolding that had been put at the building site.
“Sa abot ng kakayanan ng Construction Workers Solidarity Party-list, tutulong kami sa 11 biktima,” said Gardiola.
Additionally, he said the party list would offer free legal assistance to victims so they could protect their rights when it came to aid and benefits from their contractor-employer and government organizations like the Department of Labor and Employment, Employees Compensation Commission, Philippine Health Insurance Corp., and Malasakit Centers.
“Hindi na bago ang mga workplace safety incidents lalo na sa mga construction sites,” the lawmaker said. “Meron nang mga nauna nitong mga nakaraang buwan.”
But there are existing guidelines for worker safety, he insisted. There are established practices and procedures on site safety in construction sites. According to Gardiola, the party-list will assign the engineers and free legal-aid lawyers to investigate the situation and provide the proper recommendations to the relevant agencies.
“Our interest here is to make sure justice is served and the affected construction workers get the benefits and assistance due to them. We will ascertain whether or not there was workplace safety compliance,” he said.
Gardiola also said the party list wants the Labor department to investigate this tragedy similarly to an air crash, wherein immediate and contributory factors are probed and verified.
“We will not be satisfied with out-of-court settlements which ultimately absolve or free from prosecution those who should be criminally liable. Settlements like that do not serve the cause of justice,” he emphasized.
Photo Credit: Philippine News Agency Official Website