ILOILO City – Police were looking into an accident at a building under construction along Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue in Mandurriao district on Black Saturday that caused a teenager to lose a foot.
The right foot of the victim – a 16-year-old “barker” – was cut off after a piece of construction equipment from a level of the building fell on him, an investigator told Panay News.
Sam Johncel Villagas was calling passengers for Leganes-Iloilo City jeepneys underneath the building when the accident happened at around 4:15 p.m. on Saturday, Police Officer 1 Sindu Calata said, citing initial investigation.
Chief Inspector Juvy Navales, Mandurriao police chief, said they were still investigating but already warned that the building’s owner and contractor might face various charges.
Panay News learned that the building contractor is New City Builders, Inc.
The building is in Barangay Bolilao, Mandurriao where Villagas also lives, and next to the Injap Tower.
The contractor has not yet officially turned over the building to the company that owns it.
According to a representative of the company, the contractor is “shouldering all the hospital expenses” of the victim.
This paper was still trying to reach the contractor for comment as of this posting.
Navales said that the incident has been recorded at their station and that they already spoke with the victim’s parents and advised them to seek financial reparation.
“We told them their son might end up a PWD (person with disability) as a result of the accident,” she told this paper in a phone interview on Sunday.
While the investigator called the object that fell on Villagas’ foot a piece of equipment, he cannot be certain what kind. Calata called it a “pulley.”
Villagas was rushed to the Iloilo Doctors’ Hospital in Molo where he had undergone surgery, Calata told Panay News.
A house, owned by the 52-year-old Roger Raymundo, was damaged because of the incident but Calata said it was “minor.” No one was inside at the time, the officer added.
Calata said they have yet to know why the object fell from atop the building.
Navales said the Mandurriao police may file a case for reckless imprudence resulting to serious physical injury but they have yet to determine who to charge.
She said the incident appears to have been a result of “negligence” and involve a “juridical person, not an individual.”/PN
