Safety compliance of Iloilo malls, BPO firms reviewed

ILOILO CITY — Fire safety measures and mechanisms in shopping malls and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms in this capital of Iloilo province are being reviewed in the aftermath of a deadly fire that hit a mall hosting a BPO company in Davao City.

Iloilo City Mayor Jose Espinosa III directed the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Philippine National Police to ensure that local establishments have adequate safety measures, including smoke-detection devices and emergency exits.

Thirty-eight people, 37 of them BPO workers, died when a fire hit NCCC Mall in Davao City on Dec. 23.

Senior Fire Officer 3 Rodel Balindua, assistant chief of the fire safety enforcement and inspection unit of the BFP here, said the inspection would focus on 11 BPO firms employing 50 or more workers and those operating in malls.

Iloilo City, one of the country’s fast-expanding BPO hubs, hosts more than 50 voice and nonvoice BPO firms that employ more than 20,000. —Nestor P. Burgos Jr.