DAVAO, Philippines: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte vowed on Tuesday to get to the truth about a blaze in his home city that killed 37 call centre workers.
The Philippines said on Tuesday it would investigate whether safety regulations were ignored at an office where a fire killed 37 call centre employees and vowed to impose sanctions if firms had not met standards.
He said he made the promise during a meeting on Monday night with the families of those killed in a shopping mall fire in the southern city of Davao.
“I assured them ... that the truth will — let the truth come out,” Duterte said. “That is what they are asking for. Just the truth of what happened.”
The justice and labour departments have ordered separate investigations into Saturday’s blaze.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre has said his office would investigate the fire with a view to bringing criminal charges.
The fire broke out in the four-storey NCCC Mall shortly before it opened to shoppers. But it killed 37 people working in a 24-hour call centre for US-based market research firm SSI on the top floor.
At a Davao hospital on Tuesday families of the dead waited in a silence broken only by occasional sobs as government workers tried to identify the charred remains before releasing them to relatives.
Social welfare officers said that so far, five bodies had been turned over.
Rhea Muyco recalled the last message his 25-year-old daughter Renzi Nova sent the family as the fire raged Saturday.
“Ma, there is a fire here. If something happens to me, I love you all,” the phone message read.
Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello said he had instructed the government’s workplace health and safety agency and the Labour Ministry’s regional office in Davao, President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown, to investigate if there were lapses in safety standards.
The fire broke out at a furniture store on the third level of the 14-year-old New City Commercial Center and quickly engulfed an outsourcing business on the upper floor, based on an initial report from the city government.
“We will immediately look into possible violations of some safety and health standards,” Bello told Reuters.
“We may not issue any clearance to operate,” he said when asked to clarify sanctions that could be imposed on the mall or call centre management if culpable.
The fire is a setback for the Philippines’ $23 billion business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, which is an economic lifeline in the country of more than 100 million. The sector employs about 1.15 million people, with jobs forecast to grow to 1.8 million by 2025.
Along with remittances from overseas workers, BPO revenues are a major earner of foreign exchange for the country, driving what is one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies.
The BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN) has expressed concern about postings on social media that said the building was made of substandard materials, had locked its fire exits, and had not held fire drills. It was not possible to immediately check the accuracy of the postings.
BIEN said the government should look into every BPO firm’s compliance with occupational health and safety standards.
Seeking justice
“Justice must be served to the victims and those accountable must be penalised so as to avoid future workplace deaths,” BIEN said in a statement.
On Monday night, Duterte told relatives of victims that the National Bureau of Investigation, police and fire protection bureau would get to the bottom of the disaster.
“The truth will come out,” he said.
Research Now SSI has confirmed 37 of its 500 employees in its Davao call centre were “lost” in the fire.
It did not immediately respond to a Reuters query on Tuesday about safety protocols at its Davao office.
The company has offices in Texas, California, New York and Toronto and more than 3,500 market research, consulting, media, health care and corporate clients.
In a Sunday statement, it said it was helping to support funeral arrangements and would create a fund for contributions to help victims’ families.
The Call Centre Association of the Philippines (CCAP) said it was waiting for a full report from Research Now SSI, but saw no problem with its members meeting workplace safety standards.
“We always comply with government safety regulations because our priority is the welfare of all our employees,” CCAP President Jojo Uligan told Reuters.
But the Associated Labour Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) said safety standards were not being adhered to and the Labour Department and companies were not living up to their responsibilities to enforce and comply.
“This deaths-causing fire could have been minimised to the barest damage to property,” ALU-TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay said.
