Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III. ROBINSON NIÑAL JR./Presidential Photo
MANILA, Philippines — Labor inspectors have been deployed to areas in Mindanao hit by the 6.5-magnitude earthquake on Thursday to check the compliance of establishments on occupational safety and health standards, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said.
In a statement, Bello said that Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will allocate funds to provide emergency employment assistance to the affected workers and livelihood assistance to informal sector workers.
This after the labor inspectors assessed the extent of the damage caused by the strong quake.
He said he also dispatched senior labor officials and quick response teams to the affected areas.
The labor chief said the teams will assess the extent of destruction in workplaces and possible displacement of workers in the affected areas.
“I have sent Undersecretary Ana Dione and Assistant Secretary Benjo Santos Benavidez to proceed to General Santos City and Davao City to lead our regional DOLE officials in the assessment of the situation,” he said.
“This Sunday, I will personally fly to Davao City to see the extent of the damage and its effect on the employment of our kababayans,” he added.
Bello said he would also bring along Occupational Safety and Health Center executive director Noel Binag for the safety assessment of affected workplaces.
Citing reports, Bello said Cotabato, Kidapawan City, and neighboring areas were severely damaged by the powerful earthquake, the third one to jolt southern Philippines in less than a month.
A hotel in Kidapawan City nearly collapsed following the magnitude 6.5 earthquake.
READ: Hotel collapses in Kidapawan City due to magnitude 6.5 quake
According to Bello, DOLE has yet to receive reports on job displacements of the workers in the affected areas.
This would be one of the priority tasks of the response teams while profiling of the workers will follow, he said.
“We have received a directive from the President [Rodrigo Duterte] to monitor and provide appropriate assistance to the earthquake affected cities,” the labor secretary said.
“Even when the first earthquake jolted Mindanao early this month, we have already deployed our team to provide assistance for the affected workers,” he added. /jpv