Composite Team Rapid Assessment. Sec. Bello meets with the regional directors of DOLE XI and XII, and the professionals mostly engineers at Mandaya Hotel and directed them to create a composite team to immediately do a post-earthquake assessment.

Davao City – Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III called for an emergency meeting with OSHC Exec. Director Noel C. Binag, DOLE XI RD Raymundo G. Agravante and DOLE XII RD Sisinio B. Cano ordering to create a composite team to do a rapid assessment of structures after the two regions were hit by three high intensity earthquakes late in October, this year. Included in the meeting were structural, civil, electrical and mechanical engineers, and DOLE inspectors from the two regional offices.

“The teams shall do inspection, assessment and validation of all affected structures in the area. They then submit a recommendation to the regional director who will then issue a a temporary or full work stoppage order, if needed.”, Bello said.

“Before you conduct the inspection, get approval from the local executives and inform them that there may a temporary work stoppage as a result of the inspection. The members of the team will be deputized to have legal personalities.”, he ended.

On his part, Exec. Director Noel C. Binag of the Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC) said, “Just to inform everyone, this is an OSH investigation. Meron po tayong Department Order 183 to follow where all procedural guidelines on OSH investigation are stated.” 

Binag added that the method to be used in the investigation will the OSH Center’s HIRAC aka Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment Control.”

The emergency meeting which took place on November 3, 2019 at the Mandaya Hotel was ended by Sec. Bello directing the regional directors to create the composite team in each region and report to  him immediately for the issuance of authority to the members of the team. (By Eduardo P. Monreal, LCO-Designate, DOLE RO XI)