THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said GMA Network may face fines for possible violation of occupational safety and health (OSH) rules in its worksite accident, which caused the death of veteran actor Eddie Garcia last week.
In an interview on Tuesday, Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC) Executive Director Noel Binag said they found some OSH-related infractions based on the uploaded online video of Garcia’s accident.
“We observed there was no first-aider and medical supplies and equipment on the set like a stretcher. We saw how he [Garcia] was carried by personnel using bare hands,” Binag said.
Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III, however, stressed that such observations will still be verified meeting between labor officials and GMA executives on Wednesday.
“I understand that Dir. Binag together with undersecretary [Ana] Dione and GMA will meet tomorrow,” Bello said.
This comes after Bello issued a memo instructing Binag to conduct a fact-finding inquiry on the incident.
Aside from the meeting, Binag said they will also be looking at the OSH incident report that GMA Network should have filed with DOLE 48 hours after Garcia’s accident as required by the Occupational Safety and Health Law.
“We are still finding out if they already sent communications about [the incident]. The report is required if there is any injury, illness or death in a company,” Binag said.
Binag said GMA Network could be penalized with at least P100,000 if Garcia’s death is proven to be a result of OSH violations.
“Penalties for every noncompliance based on our occupational safety and health standards ranges from P20,000 to P50,000. Since there are a lot of rules to follow and to complied with, it could amount to even more, to P100,000,” Binag said.
Garcia died last week after succumbing to a cervical spine injury while filming a new teleserye in Manila.
In a related development, Bello said they will also look into the reported incident of a factory worker, who died last Saturday in Iloilo after falling into a meat grinder.
Binag said there might also be some OSH violation in the incident since there was no “machine guard” or railing surrounding the meat grinder.
He said the machine guard is critical to prevent workers from having close contact with large deadly machines like meat grinders and power saws.
1 comment
P100, 000???!How about not renewing their TV license?