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The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has partially lifted work stoppage on the Skyway Extension Project following an accident that killed a motorist and injured six others
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Work stoppage maintained in affected areas of construction site, lifting prohibition in unaffected areas
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The partial lifting of the temporary work stoppage is without prejudice to result of November 24 hearing with project contractors and subcontractors on the accident
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has partially lifted the work stoppage imposed on the Skyway Extension Project, keeping the order only in areas of the construction site affected by the recent accident.
Labor Secretary Silvestro Bello III in an order dated November 24 lifted in particular the supplemental work stoppage on the entire Skyway Extension Project that was issued on November 23 by DOLE-National Capital Region regional director Sarah Buena Mirasol to project contractor EEI Corporation project manager Jose Ilagan.
READ: DOLE stops work on Skyway Extension pending probe
Bello retained the work stoppage issued also on November 23 covering only the affected areas of the construction site, pending the outcome of an occupational and health standards investigation into the accident that left one dead and at least six others injured.
The partial lifting of the work stoppage is also without prejudice to the result of the November 24 hearing with project contractors and subcontractors “to determine the propriety of having this Work Stoppage Order lifted or not.”
Bello’s November 24 order recognized “the utmost national importance underlying the said skyway extension project.” It also acknowledged that suspending construction on unaffected areas of the project “will cause prejudice to the employees assigned/deployed thereat whose livelihood heavily depends on the said project’s continued operation.”
The order further cited EEI’s November 23 letter which said “the incident is an isolated case and that the company has strict safety protocols in place.” The company also maintained it is conducting a full risk assessment and mitigation study to determine the exact cause of the incident.
EEI also said the “immediate stoppage of all works in the entire Skyway Extension Project would present further risk and additional peril on the works.”
Initial assessment showed that on November 21, a crane of project contractor EEI fell as it was moving to its next position, hitting a steel girder and causing it to fall.
At least six vehicles were reported to have been involved in the accident, leaving one person dead and at least six others injured.
San Miguel Corp. (SMC) president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang has earlier apologized to the victims and their families, and assured they will be provided “all the means necessary” to recover and restart.
SMC is the concessionaire of the Skyway Extension Project.
Ang said they are working with authorities to determine the root cause of the incident.
“We will find out where lapses occurred and do whatever is necessary to help make sure they don’t happen again.”
Prior to the work stoppage order, SMC has already said completion of the Skyway Extension Project will be pushed back by two months to February 2021.
The P10-billion Skyway Extension Project will extend the Skyway from Susana Heights on the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) to Sucat in Parañaque and back, and will provide direct access to the elevated section of the Skyway.
It will connect SLEX and Muntinlupa Cavite Expressway to the Skyway at Susanna Heights, bypassing Alabang, to shorten travel from south to north via the Skyway System.
The project, started in late 2019, will also eliminate traffic buildup along SLEX heading to Alabang and the Alabang viaduct.
