DOLE regional director suspended following Angeles City building collapse

Newly appointed Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino has placed the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region III director under a one-month preventive suspension following the death of four individuals in a collapsed building under construction in Angeles City, Pampanga.

Tolentino suspended DOLE Region III Director Geraldine Panlilio as part of the agency’s ongoing investigation to determine the accountability of officials of the Labor Department in the incident, according to the report of Super Radyo dzBB's Manny Vargas.

The investigation also includes finding out why construction work continued despite the issuance of a work stoppage order in 2025.

Tolentino further said that he wants to determine whether DOLE did everything necessary to protect the workers.

Meanwhile, Panlilio said she accepted the issued preventive suspension but was shocked by this move.

She added that she would follow the order and that she is confident that her office did not perform negligence.

On Tuesday evening, the Angeles City government said search and rescue operations at the collapsed under-construction building have officially ended after authorities found no signs of life beneath the rubble, prompting efforts to shift to retrieval and clearing operations.

Four people were confirmed dead, 16 were still reported missing, and 26 were rescued in the incident, according to Angeles City government’s public information office chief Jose “Jay” Pelayo IV.

Pelayo said authorities are still verifying reports and collecting data to determine possible liabilities, as city officials have yet to hear from the building owner or contractor.

The latest permit on record for the project was reportedly issued in 2023, while the construction began in 2024, according to the city government. — Mariel Celine Serquiña/BAP, GMA News