DOLE official suspended after Pampanga hotel collapse kills workers

Questions were raised over the ignored work stoppage order for the site.

A Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) official has been placed under a one-month preventive suspension following the collapse of a building in Pampanga, amid questions over why a prior work stoppage order for the site had not been enforced.

Acting Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino ordered the suspension of Region III director Geraldine Panlilio as investigators look into possible lapses in oversight linked to the incident.

The development comes just two days after a nine-storey construction site for a proposed hotel collapsed on May 24 at around 3 AM in Angeles City, Pampanga, triggering a rapidly unfolding situation that has since drawn scrutiny across labor and safety agencies.

The structure trapped at least 46 people, mostly workers. So far, 26 have been rescued, at least four have died, and 16 remain missing.

The regulatory breakdown

The building was owned by Golden Years Construction and Steelworks, a Malabon-based firm, which has yet to comment on the matter. A work stoppage order was issued in September 2025 due to repeated safety violations.

DOLE Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma resigned from his post a day after the incident, citing health reasons. Former senator Tolentino was appointed acting secretary the same day.

Tolentino said the investigation aims to determine accountability among labor officials and clarify why workers were on-site despite the existing work stoppage order.