WITCO on Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project Incident

The management of WITCO Construction & Development Corporation (WCDC) is deeply saddened by the tragic incident last April 21, 2023 involving four (4) of our workers conducting internal pipeline cleaning activities in Barangay Buhangin, Proper for the Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project (DCBWSP).

Three (3) were rushed to the hospital by the Davao City 911 rescue team after experiencing difficulty in breathing. One was retrieved inside the pipeline by emergency personnel but unfortunately was pronounced dead upon arrival at the Southern Philippines Medical Center due to suffocation. An investigation was immediately conducted to understand how this had happened, to determine those responsible and to provide immediate solutions to prevent a similar incident. Meanwhile, our Project Engineer and Safety officer supervising the activity when the incident happened have been suspended and have been permanently pulled out from the project. Should there be any finding of negligence on the part of our supervising and safety officers on-site, our company will take full responsibility. We have started to undertake a comprehensive re-orientation among our project leads and workers to ensure strict compliance to Occupational Safety and Health Standards, retraining of all our manpower and reinforcing full compliance to the work permit system, among others. We have reached out to the affected workers as well as to the family of the deceased and have started to provide them with the needed medical and financial support. The safety lapses that have been identified in our investigation are now being addressed. In the meantime, all works related to the DCBWSP have been temporarily suspended until such time that we are able to fully implement corrective measures. WCDC is committed to do all that is necessary to ensure that this incident will never happen again. Our sincere apologies to all those who have been affected by this regretful incident”.