Duterte orders probe on budget hotel collapse in Malate

A Sogo hotel branch in Malate, Manila collapsed on Monday morning. Courtesy of the Manila Public Information Office

MANILA, Philippines—President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered a “thorough investigation” into the collapse of a portion of Sogo hotel in Malate, Manila that killed two workers.

In a statement Tuesday, Duterte’s spokesman Salvador Panelo also asked “concerned authorities to coordinate with the City Government of Manila, particularly the Manila City Engineering Office, for the conduct of the probe.”

The Palace official, likewise, commended Manila Mayor Isko Moreno for his swift actions on the incident.

Based on the first responders of the incident, the building, which was under demolition, collapsed around 9:30 a.m. Monday.

The corpses of the two workers were pulled out from the rubble in the afternoon.

READ: 2 laborers dead, 1 hurt as budget hotel collapses

According to the city’s Bureau of Permits, the hotel had a permit to operate issued in 2004  but it has yet to determine when it started operations and why the building was being torn down. /jpv