House probe urged on Cavite factory fire

Smoke continues to rise from the still-burning HTI (House Technology Industries) factory inside the Export Processing Zone Authority complex after the fire razed the compound, Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, in General Trias township, Cavite province south of Manila, Philippines. Gov. Crispin Remulla says the fire at the factory complex injured over 100 workers and sent thousands fleeing to safety. AP Photo

The seven-member militant Makabayan bloc has formally asked the House of Representatives to investigate the fire that razed the House Technology Industries Pte. Ltd. (HTI) factory at the Cavite Export Processing Zone last week.

House Resolution No. 747 seeks a probe by the House committee on labor and employment in aid of legislation regarding occupational health and safety.

The resolution stressed the need for an “independent, impartial and public investigation” to avoid “whitewash” and hold government officials and HTI management accountable for neglect of duty.

It stated that ecozones “enjoy ‘incentives’ in the nature of infirm and toothless labor laws and regulations” that permitted employers to “skirt their responsibilities of ensuring the safety and well-being of their workers.”

Among the Department of Labor and Employment issuances blamed for loosened regulation are Department Order No. 131-13 and Administrative Order No. 404, series of 2014.

Citing news reports, Makabayan noted that a hundred workers were seriously injured, as well as the harrowing tale of workers forced to jump out the window from the third floor.

It also cited Cavite Gov. Jesus Crispin Remulla’s statement in an interview that an overheated insulation stamping machine caused the fire, gutting a factory that housed wood and other combustible materials. —VINCE F. NONATO