Construction firm doing all it can

This refers to Ramon Tulfo’s three columns criticizing Metro Stonerich Corp. (Inquirer, 10/16/12, 11/6/12, 11/8/12). The columns created the impression that our company has not made any effort to make up for the damage on the property of Peyo Pineda, which was caused by falling objects from one of our projects in Quezon City.

First of all, as a construction company, we adhere strictly to the safety standards required by the industry. We comply with these safety standards at our project sites, and building officials are free to inspect and validate our safety programs and measures.

We apologize for the incidents that Tulfo repeatedly cited in his columns. We had taken the proper and necessary measures to repair any damage and safeguard the property of Pineda even before this matter was made public.

The “100-kg cement slab” cited was actually a hardened residue of poured concrete the size of an average backpack. It fell off during cleanup, while workers were trying to secure it with a rope. It did not fall straight down, it ricocheted against an outcropping ledge, sending it beyond five protective canopies underneath. It was a freak accident that nobody wanted to happen, and we have sincerely apologized to Pineda. We have also offered to repair the damage and to house his family in a separate apartment for a year, all at our expense. In addition, we acceded to Pineda’s request that we construct another protective canopy or roof over his house to temporarily shield it from any further damage that may be caused by possible falling objects.

The offer of the “measly” sum of P100,000 (the final amount is actually P200,000) offered by our company was in response to Pineda’s request for the payment of  “moral damages.” We told Pineda that moral damages are difficult to quantify, and that it would be more appropriate if he himself made the offer that he deemed reasonable and fair under the circumstances. He insisted that we make an offer, which is what we did. Pineda did not tell us in our meeting with him on Nov. 6 that our offer was “adding insult to injury.” We have written Pineda two separate letters dated Nov. 6 and 7, committing to do all the rectification and protective measures mentioned above. We were told by Pineda to await his go-signal to proceed as he wanted to check with his lawyers first.

We believe that as a responsible contractor we have done everything possible within our resources to keep Pineda and his neighbors safe and undisturbed. Nonetheless, we apologize for all the inconvenience and disturbance caused by our construction. We are committed to undertake all precautionary measures to prevent further accidents from happening.

—BONG M. NUÑO,

president,

Metro Stonerich Corp.,

[email protected]