The City Government of Antipolo is planning to hold the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and its private contractor liable for the erosion incident at an ongoing riprap construction on a roadside highway in the city that killed a construction worker and injured two others.
The office of Mayor Casimiro "Junjun" Ynares III said a thorough investigation has been going on to determine the liability of the DPWH and its private contractor in the collapse of the portion of the roadside at Sitio Cabading in Barangay San Jose, Antipolo City that buried and killed a construction worker and injured two of his co-laborers during the weekend.
Initial investigation by the City Engineering Office found out that the construction of the riprap project has yet to be issued an excavation permit by the City Government when the incident happened.
City government rescuers had a hard time retrieving the body of the construction worker as the victim was reportedly pinned underneath the mounds of earth that was covered by steel bars and other construction materials.
Some construction workers who were near the site of the accident told rescuers that they felt an earthquake like shaking before they saw a portion of the foundation of the riprap slide towards the victims. They said the recent rain might have loosened the soil at the construction site resulting in the erosion.
The city government has issued a notice of violation against the project’s contractor.