Newly-installed Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Francis Tolentino suspended on Tuesday, May 26, the regional director of Central Luzon following the building collapse in Angeles City over the weekend that has so far left at least four people dead.

Tolentino said the one-month suspension of Geraldine Panlilio is intended to ensure the impartiality of the ongoing investigation into the incident, especially on the aspect of whether or not the local DOLE office did its job in ensuring the welfare of the workers of the involved construction firm.

“We will be placing Director Panlilio under preventive suspension for one month while investigation is ongoing. The assistant regional director will take over,” said Tolentino.

Structural integrity issues were raised after the building collapse that also resulted in the disappearance of at least 16 more workers who are believed to have been buried inside.

Rescuers earlier said they are shifting to retrieval operations as there are no longer signs of life under the large pile of debris.

For his part, Tolentino disclosed that a work stoppage order was issued against the construction firm before for violations of occupational safety hazards regulations—the order was issued by the DOLE regional office.

One of the bases was the report that the firm allowed the setting up of barracks of the workers inside the construction site.

According to Tolentino, the company claimed to have complied with the regulations and this was the reason why it resumed the construction.

“This will be part of the investigation because maybe the inspection was done when the building stage was at four storeys and before the incident, it was already nine or 10 stories with a swimming pool,” said Tolentino.

What he wants to find out in ordering the probe is whether or not the inspection of the DOLE is done regularly.

And if not, Tolentino said he will come up with a policy that will make DOLE inspection on a regular basis at the course of every construction of any structure.