The fight for environmental protection and justice is inseparable from the struggle for workers' health, safety, and rights. IOHSAD commits to raising workers' awareness of this inseparable connection and to assisting them in confronting violations and neglect of their fundamental occupational, environmental, and health and safety (OEHS) rights.
The Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has been pushing for the criminalization of OSH standards violations, and the recent building collapse in Angeles, Pampanga that has already claimed 27 lives makes this campaign more urgent than ever.
This April 2026 special issue of ASSERT is one of the outputs of Ms. Beatrice Fernandez’ students from the UP Manila Political Science NSTP program. The IOHSAD team extends our gratitude for the efforts and work poured by the students, from planning and actual press work, to complete and release this newsletter.
This report examines the current state of OSH in the country, situating workplace safety within its broader political, economic, and social context.
The acquittal of all the accused is a complete miscarriage of justice. It is evidence to a corrupt justice system that allows public and company officials to pay off deadly crimes against workers. It did not only deny victims and their families justice, it had also set an atrocious precedent that perpetuated a culture of negligence on OSH standards and thus preventable fatalities, injuries, and diseases at work.
“Profit should never come before a worker's right to come home alive. HB 5221 must be passed immediately — stricter fines and imprisonment for neglectful companies. Right now, the penalty for letting your workers die is cheaper than fixing a fire exit,” said De Leon.
Through art and testimonies, workers, youth, and communities collectively commemorated the lives of occupational safety and health (OSH) rights victims.
The 2025 OSH Incident Report presents an alarming and troubling picture of the conditions faced by Filipino workers throughout the year. Preventable deaths and life-altering injuries persisted in both the formal and informal sectors, revealing a systemic failure to uphold and enforce occupational safety and health standards nationwide. Based primarily on credible news reports, the […]
This April 2025 special issue of ASSERT is a product of the collective effort between the Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Development (IOHSAD) and student advocates from the UP Manila Political Science NSTP program. It amplifies the voices of Filipino workers confronting systemic exploitation, asserting their rights to safe, dignified, and just conditions in […]
The Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Development (IOHSAD) calls on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for stronger heat safety measures in the workplace that would genuinely protect workers from extreme heat. Last March 8, in an ambush interview at a job fair in Kafuerte Complex, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma recommended that employers […]
