CEBU City officials suspended the development of a condominium complex on Salvador St. in Barangay Labangon yesterday after an accident that killed one worker.
John Eric Llera, 22, was reportedly welding a portion of the sheet piles in a retaining wall in the construction site, when part of the wall collapsed.
Llera, who hailed from Canlumampao, Toledo City, was rushed to the Cebu City Medical Center but was declared dead on arrival at 10:28 a.m., said Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRMO) Chief Nagiel Bañacia.
No other workers were hurt.
“This is an unfortunate accident no one wanted to happen,” said JE Abraham Lee Construction and Development Inc. in a press statement last night.
It’s the contractor for Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI), which is developing two condominium towers within the 3,681-square-meter property. This used to be the site of a fashion accessory and home decor factory of AB Soberano International Corp., the export affiliate of Cebu Landmasters, which now operates in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City.
Both the condominium developer and contractor are “extending all assistance to his family, including returning his remains to his hometown Toledo City,” the contractor added.
JE Abraham Lee Construction & Development Inc. said that the wall was erected to prevent soil erosion and water intrusion at the site.
“The incident took place while a welder was trying to reinforce the sheet piles serving as retaining wall. We want to be clear that there are no construction works being undertaken at the site, so the report that a building collapsed is misleading. What we are simply doing is tearing down the old buildings, which is duly covered by a demolition permit.”
Preliminary
The statement added: “While it is true that there are excavations onsite, these are preliminary diggings as part of the demolition work. No more than one-fourth of the project site has been excavated and as part of soil protection, sheet piles were erected.”
Cebu Landmasters, for its part, said there was no need to secure a building permit for its Casa Mira Towers project in Barangay Labangon for now, since it hasn’t started building the condominium building yet.
This was its response after City Hall’s Office of the Building Official (OBO) Chief, Engr. Josefa Ylanan, said that the developer lacked an excavation permit and a building permit from the City.
“After I learned about the incident, I tried to verify and what they have is an approval for the demolition of their existing structure, a bodega. Aside from that, wala na (there is no other permit). The probability there is they demolished the structure but at the same time, nag-excavate. So there is a violation there,” Engineer Ylanan said.
Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella said the activities in the construction site were temporarily stopped pending an investigation.
He told reporters that a road adjacent to the construction site will have to be closed because of the danger that the soil might further erode.
Kept out
The OBO expects an incident report from the developer of the site today.
Barangay Tanod Jose Wesley Cellona said that some residents near the construction site rushed to Labangon barangay hall and informed them about the accident past 10 a.m.
“Among nakita ang tawo nga gihiktan og pisi. Gibira, dayon gikarga sa ambulansiya (What we saw was a man tied with rope. He was placed inside an ambulance,” he said. “Nakit-an namo ang nawong. Bayolet na kaayo (We saw his face. It was very pale).”
Cellona and his fellow tanods managed to get inside the site, but the security guards allegedly drove them out.
For about three hours, Cellona said, the guards would not let the police, personnel from the Bureau of Fire and Protection and other local officials enter.
At first, the guards also refused to let the vice mayor and some OBO representatives inside so they could inspect the site.
Pending
It was Labella who later confirmed to reporters that there was no one else who died in the accident, aside from Llera.
The vice mayor and his companions were allowed inside past 1:30 p.m.
Information from City Hall indicated that Cebu Landmasters Inc. applied for a demolition permit for a two-storey commercial building last May 3.
OBO granted a demolition permit last June 1. It stated that the demolition should be completed within 15 days.
However, Ylanan said that her office was not informed that the developer subsequently started excavation works for the foundation.
“Excavating without a permit is a criminal offense,” she said, although the developer can still get the permits from them after all requirements are met.
She also said that the developer can continue the soil protection works in the area to prevent further accidents.
The developer contested some of the City official’s comments.
Permits
“What we have are the necessary permits for where we are now. We have the demolition permit and that’s what we’ve been doing, tearing down the property,” said Landmasters assistant vice president for legal, documentation and permits Larri-Nil G. Veloso.
Atty. Veloso said the developer has already applied for a building permit, but its status is still pending.
The sheet pile was installed precisely to prevent accidents.
“Unfortunately before they could finish the reinforcement, the accident happened,” he said.
Cebu Landmasters has tapped J. Abraham Lee Construction as the general contractor for its Casa Mira Towers, which will house 686 condominium units in one 16-storey and one 18-storey building. These are targeted for completion in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Veloso said the incident is primarily the responsibility of the contractor, although he noted that Cebu Landmasters will provide financial assistance to the worker’s family.
On the issue of rescuers allegedly being denied entry in the compound, Veloso said that the worker was quickly sent to the hospital before the rescuers arrived, so there was no one left to rescue when they came. With PR