20 Hanjin workers hurt in Subic; Senate probes mishaps

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – A shuttle bus carrying about 50 workers to the Hanjin shipbuilding facility here crashed into a road barrier and fell into a ravine in Cawag, Subic, Zambales yesterday, injuring more than 20 people.

The accident took place on the same day that the Senate was scheduled to conduct an inquiry into the rising incidents of deaths of Filipino workers of the firm.

Senators are mulling the suspension of all construction operations at the controversial shipyard project.

Two of the injured were in serious condition but the rest were able to proceed to work despite the accident.

Five still unidentified workers were brought to the shipyard and later transferred to the St. Jude Hospital in Olongapo City, while 21 others were brought to the San Marcelino District Hospital in Zambales, according to Police Senior Inspector Nelson de la Cruz, Subic chief of police.

De la Cruz identified those seriously injured as Melmer Fontillas y Valdes, 25, a resident of Wawandue, Subic; and 22-year-old Jaime Legaspina y Gaylan of Matain, Subic, Zambales.

Others who were injured were Joan Jade Guinto, Mark Dee Dollpas, Leonard Ompad, Herwin Tolentino, Michael Javier, Arnel Fontillas, Glen Ubago, Joel Angelos, Erwin Felizminia, Darwin Abella, Gilbert Sabado, Antonio Balulot, Melvin Labang, Michael Jasmin, Elmer Navalta, Zaldy Abrigo, Jay-Ar Martinez, Joey Lacra, and Annalisa Rosalejos.

The workers came from Subic town, where a shuttle bus contracted by Hanjin Heavy Industries Co.-Phils, picked them up.

Investigators said the accident occurred at about 7 a.m. when the bus with plate number RHA-295 driven by Jericho Liego lost control while negotiating a zigzag in the road in the Cawag area.

Police said Liego, who was reportedly racing with two other buses, lost control of the steering wheel, causing the 50-seater bus to swerve and hit a box culvert, before falling into the ravine.

The driver survived the accident but reportedly fled before rescuers arrived. He later surrendered to the police.

He will be charged with reckless imprudence resulting in multiple physical injuries.

‘Suspend operations’

Senate President Pro Tempore Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, chairman of the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development which is investigating the series of deaths of workers in the construction site, said he would recommend the temporary suspension of all construction activities until such time that the firm has fixed its safety systems. 

Sen. Pia Cayetano, author of Senate Resolution No. 807 which prompted the inquiry, expressed hope that the hearing would help shed light on the cause of the string of deaths, as well as the reported inaction of government agencies responsible for enforcing labor standards and occupational safety measures at the shipyard.

In yesterday’s hearing, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Regional Office III director Nathaniel Lacambra accused the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) of allegedly preventing DOLE’s inspectors from conducting inspections of the HHIC construction site.

Lacambra said the cause of deaths of workers at Hanjin’s construction site was due to the lack of safety and health devices and the unsafe conditions for workers in the area.

He said he informed SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza as early as December last year that the DOLE will conduct an investigation into Hanjin’s construction site but the “SBMA has effectively told us not to enter the Hanjin premises.”

Arreza said it was not the SBMA but Hanjin itself that is preventing the DOLE from conducting inspection of its construction site.

“The Hanjin construction site is a secured zone. It is Hanjin that does not allow them to conduct the inspection. Subic is open to everyone. In the same manner that you cannot just enter a private property, they (DOLE) have to seek clearance from Hanjin. We are not preventing DOLE from exercising its functions. We only asked them to coordinate with the SMBA,” Arreza said.

Lawyer Ramon Agregado of the SBMA’s support service group said that the SBMA required Hanjin to put up a clinic at its construction site.

“But during the first week of January, they (Hanjin) said they are still in the process of complying with this requirement,” he said, describing the Hanjin construction site as hazardous.

Agregado’s statement that they only asked Hanjin to put up a clinic on its construction site, two years after it started operation, shocked Cayetano. She said doctors should be working full-time at the construction site.

Cayetano filed a resolution and delivered a privilege speech last December to call the chamber’s attention following the deaths of two Filipino workers within the span of a week last November.

But the lady senator noted that an unofficial account by a labor-support group in Subic reported a bigger death toll at 24, including stay-in workers who reportedly died from malaria.    

She also took the floor last Jan. 21 to denounce the interference of South Korean Ambassador Choi Joong-kyung in the Senate’s conduct of legislative inquiries.

In his letter dated Dec. 23, 2008, the Korean envoy warned Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile of “substantial and negative repercussions” should Hanjin become the subject of a Senate inquiry.

She likewise downplayed fears that an investigation would discourage foreign investments, lead to more layoffs and compound the already gloomy unemployment scenario brought about by the global financial crisis.

“I have nothing against foreign investments and nothing against Koreans per se. I welcome the fact that they’re coming in to bring jobs and much-needed capital. But I believe that it is the government’s responsibility to create an atmosphere that should encourage business investments and at the same time ensure strict compliance with our laws, regardless of whether you’re a Filipino or foreigner,” she added.

The SBMA authorities, for its part, said they are now seeking to untangle the interlocking layers of subsidiaries and subcontractors operating in the shipyard to pin down parties who are liable for deaths and accidents.

“In most cases, investigations have pinned the blame on subcontractors who have committed safety lapses. But although we revoked the permits of those who were found liable for violations, safety lapses have become a recurring problem,” Arreza said.

Agregado, on the other hand, said Hanjin’s business model is premised on the division of its construction and manufacturing processes into distinct businesses, with the operations of each division undertaken by a Hanjin subsidiary. Each subsidiary, in turn, engages several subcontractors and sub-subcontractors to perform the work. – Jose Rodel Clapano, Aurea Calica, Ric Sapnu