By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Bacolod City Office of the Building Official (OBO) issued a work stoppage order on the under construction Capitol Central Mall, which saw a portion of the complex collapse last weekend, killing two laborers.

OBO head, Engr. Isidro Sun, Jr., said, based on a personal inspection last November 13, he found probable cause to temporarily halt construction, citing Section 215 of the National Building Code, which mandates building officials to take action if a “building or structure is found or declared to be dangerous or ruinous.”

He has since requested subcontractor Kuntel Construction to cease operations, submit a report on the cause of the incident, along with surrendering their construction logbooks to his office.

The city official said another inspection will take place after the report is received.

Sun added, the order will only be lifted once all defects or deficiencies in construction have been corrected.

Earlier, the Department of Labor and Employment-Region VI (DOLE-6) issued a stoppage order, although they lifted the order after investigators forwarded their findings.

Based on initial reports by Police Regional Office-6 (PRO-6), around 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, workers Doddy Boy Mallorca and Heracleo Abraham were pouring cement on the sixth floor when the scaffolding and beams collapsed./DGB, WDJ