PRESS RELEASE
May 12, 2026

Never Again, Kentex Fire: IOHSAD Calls for Immediate Safety Inspections Across Workplaces

The Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Development (IOHSAD) expresses grave concern over the recent workplace fires and urges the government to take immediate action. On May 7, 2026, a fire broke out at the vicinity of Purefoods-Hormel Company facility in General Trias, Cavite. The following day, May 8, 2026, a blaze struck Nibertex — a nanofiber membrane manufacturing company — inside the First Cavite Industrial Estate (FCIE). Both incidents expose the volatile and hazardous conditions workers continue to face.

The Nibertex fire erupted at 9:33 AM and escalated to second alarm within minutes. A fire-out was declared three hours later. While no casualties were reported, the speed at which the fire spread raises serious questions about the regularity of safety measures and fire hazard assessments in industrial facilities.

These are not isolated accidents. They reflect systemic failures in workplace fire safety — where production quotas routinely take precedence over the maintenance of facilities and the proper storage of combustible materials.

“We refuse to wait for another Kentex — where over 70 workers burned to death because companies cut corners on safety. These fires are not accidents. They are the result of neglect, impunity, and a government that looks away. The extreme heat we face today makes every unaddressed fire hazard a ticking clock,” said Nadia De Leon, IOHSAD Executive Director.

The Bureau of Fire Protection has reported an uptick in fire incidents nationwide, even as fatalities and property damage have declined. However, the agency has simultaneously recorded a decrease in fire safety inspections. IOHSAD urges both the BFP and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to conduct immediate and comprehensive fire safety inspections across industrial facilities, enforce compliance with fire safety standards, mandate the inclusion of Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans, and strictly require the reporting of major workplace incidents.

Multiple industrial facilities catching fire within the same week points to systemic oversight failures across companies, DOLE, and BFP alike — directly compromising the safety of workers. No worker should lose their livelihood, their health, or their life to preventable tragedies. IOHSAD demands an immediate and public investigation into the cause of these industrial fires.

“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.

IOHSAD reiterates its call for the amendment of Republic Act 11058, or the OSH Law, through the immediate passage of HB 5221, proposed by the Gabriela Women’s Party in Congress. Stricter fines and imprisonment must be imposed on negligent companies to ensure that workplace health andsafety is treated as workers’ fundamental right — not a cost to be minimized.