Tragedy in Kentex factory fire must never happen
again, says President Aquino
Emphasizing that the tragedy that killed 72
workers in the Kentex factory fire must never happen again, President Benigno
S. Aquino III on Monday vowed to press criminal charges against those
responsible for the fire and ordered the inspection of 300,000 establishments
in the National Capital Region (NCR) to ensure that they meet fire safety
standards.
“Ang hinahabol natin, hindi maulit ang trahedyang
ito at talaga namang mapagdiinan sa pamamagitan ng mga kasong isasampa sa lahat
ng nagtulung-tulong para magkaroon ng ganitong trahedya,” he said during a
press conference held at the Kalayaan Hall of Malacañang Palace.
The President noted that one of the charges that
could be leveled against those responsible for the fire is “reckless imprudence
resulting in multiple homicide.”
Describing the incident as a “tragedy waiting to
happen,” President Aquino said multiple violations of the Fire Code have been
found in the case of the Kentex factory fire, among them the lack of a
protected fire exit, and the lack of a fire sprinkler system, fire detection
and alarm system.
He also criticized the city government of
Valenzuela for issuing the Kentex factory owners a business permit and a certificate
of occupancy despite the lack of a fire safety inspection certificate.
The President further said that immediately after
the incident, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) inspected 23 factories near
the Kentex factory for fire safety and all of them failed.
“Twenty-three out of 23 ang may mga violations.
Merong isa na sobrang dami ang violations, ipinasara na hanggang ma-correct ang
mga ito,” he said.
To prevent the recurrence of the incident, the
President said he has ordered the inspection of 300,000 establishments across
the NCR. He however acknowledged that this is not easy.
“Hindi ganoon kadali ang proseso. Ang meron lang
computerized data base dito sa mga factories na ito ay Quezon City at saka
Valuenzuela. Kaya nga kailangan pulungin ni Interior Secretary Roxas para
ma-compile lahat itong mga data para talagang masuyod natin lahat ang mga
establisyemento,” he said.
He also saw the need to attend to the welfare of
factory workers.
“Paano ba natin babalansehin ang karapatan ng
manggagawa na magtrabaho sa isang maaliwalas at safe na working environment at
ang karapatan nilang hindi mawalan ng trabaho? So, pipilitin natin na
ma-minimize ang disruption, pero kapag talaga namang glaring na fire trap na
talagang konting sunog lang, puwedeng maging matinding trahedya, obligado naman
tayong protektahan ang mga manggagawa,” he explained.
Earlier during the press conference, BFP Chief
Ariel Barayuga presented a scale model of the Kentex factory to show how the
fire started and spread inside the building.
Also present during the press conference were
Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr., DILG Secretary Manuel Roxas,
Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman, and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.
PND (ag)
