ORMOC CITY, Leyte, Dec. 21, (PNA)
- Amid influx of shoppers this Yuletide season, the city building officials
here ordered suspension of operation of a mall’s escalator on Saturday
following an accident involving a 13-year-old girl.
City engineer Ranulfo Oliveros
said they ordered Gaisano to stop the operation of its descending escalator
from third to ground floor after finding out “obvious damages” for safety
precautions.
It was ordered to undergo
appropriate repairs and must secure certificate of operation from the local
engineer’s office before it can be activated.
“The escalator of Gaisano Capital
is already very unsafe and must undergo major repair,” said Mechanical Engineer
Dixton Canezo, who inspected the equipment.
This happened days after Felix N.
Codilla III, father of a 13-year old girl, lodged a complaint at the police
against the shopping center for the management’s failure to properly respond to
the accident recently.
Codilla said, at 7:13 p.m. of Dec.
15 while his wife Sheila and two kids were descending from third floor, the
escalator made thumping mechanical noises. As they reached the ground floor,
the child’s foot was caught at the escalator’s damaged comb protector.
Fortunately, the child, who was
then in school uniform, able to quickly take off her foot from the shoe that
was eaten by the machine. The shoe’s rear part was almost crushed.
The child wore flat school shoes
that enabled her quickly slip off. Codilla dreaded the consequence had the
child worn regular school shoes or rubber shoes that cannot be taken off
easily.
What he complained more was what
he said the apathy of the store personnel and security guards who merely looked
and did not offer any help.
“My daughter was scared, shaking
and crying but none of them asked if she was okay. My frantic wife was
demanding for the manager but the sales clerks just told her to go to customer
service. None of them moved to report the matter to the manager,” he said.
When Codilla arrived at the store
at 7:30 p.m., he immediately seek the management’s help but still the manager
failed to show up which prompted him to call for police assistance.
Cops from precinct 1 Sr. police
officer Ruben Orsolino, investigator; and police officer Junar Caldoza, a
member of the Quick Response Team arrived and arranged a conversation at the
manager’s office.
Store manager Junrey Sacan
admitted that the escalator wasn’t working well that day but he allowed it to
run after applying remedial quick fix. He, however, denied knowledge on talks
in his office that similar accidents happened before.
Codilla cited Gaisano’s lapses:
first, the estimated 20-year-old escalator should have been decommissioned if
the alleged accidents were true; second, the store doesn’t have a clinic and medical
personnel; third, the employees and guards were untrained on dealing with
accidents; fourth, GC doesn’t practice occupational safety on its workplace;
and fifth is the long response time of the manager.
Codilla’s wife, Shiela for her
part was afraid worse accidents might happen if the escalator continues
operating.
Sacan asked apology and explained
that the matter has been entrusted to their machineries’ contractor maintenance
that sustains works to 26 store branches, adding he already reported the matter
to the management in Cebu.
Their conversation ended with an
assurance that vital repairs be made right away. The building officials
inspected the equipment two days later and repairs were made the next day that
Sacan does not have the idea how long it would take. (PNA)
FFC/SQM/Elvie Roman Roa
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