The Valenzuela City government has released its first safety manual, two years after the Kentex factory tragedy, which placed the local administration at the center of heated debates on the issue of accountability.
The city government published “Manual for Safe and Humane Working Environment,” as a sign of its commitment to help company employers to be more familiar with regulatory laws concerning workplace safety.
Valenzuela said it is the first and only local government unit in the country today to come up with this kind of self-assessment reference tool for business owners.
The publication of the safety manual is anchored from Rule VII, Section 30 of Ordinance No. 296 Series of 2016, which prescribes the “minimum standards for a safe, healthy, and humane working environment in Valenzuela City.”
The reference material also contains other policies, mandates, and guidelines in sanitation, building permit acquisition, and business licensing in the city. It intends to be the official reference material for reviewing and planning industrial health, protection, and safety at workplaces in Valenzuela City.
According to Office of the Building Official Arch. Edison Ching Padilla, the essence of the handbook is to help maintain good housekeeping practices in factories and other industrial work areas.
Padilla also explains the tripartite mechanism of upholding a safe and humane working environment in Valenzuela City. “The city [government] is there to make and regulate orders, the employers are there to implement, and the employees are there to cooperate,” he said.
During the pioneer “Safe and Humane Working Environment Orientation and Seminar Workshop” on May 2, copies of the manual were distributed to participant-representatives from the manufacturing and industrial companies.
Distribution of the safety manual is continuous until all the 1509 listed industrial or manufacturing business establishments at the Business Permit and Licensing Office are saturated.
Business entities have until September this year to comply with the prescribed measures enumerated on the manual. After which, the City Business Inspection and Audit Team will start inspecting companies to check if they have already complied with the safety requirements.
Those that fail to comply would be subjected to work stoppage, revocation of permits, or closure.
Based on BPLO data as of March 2017, Valenzuela City has a total of 14,616 registered businesses, where 1,553 are manufacturing and heavy industries.