Social welfare dept assures aid for victims of HTI fire in Cavite

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has pledged to extend assistance to the families of the victims of the fire that razed the House Technology Industries (HTI) in Cavite last Wednesday (Photo: Department of Social Welfare and Development/ Facebook)

MANILA—The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has pledged to extend assistance to the families of the victims of the fire that razed the House Technology Industries (HTI) in Cavite last Wednesday, its chief Judy Taguiwalo has said.

Taguiwalo said DSWD-Calabarzon will lead the efforts to provide the victims’ families assistance, even though HTI’s Japanese owner has assured that the company will shoulder the victims’ hospital expenses.

The social welfare chief went to General Trias in Cavite Thursday to check the needs of the victims.

HTI, located at the compound of the Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA), manufactures pre-fabricated house parts that are exported to Japan. Reports said the fire started at a section with a machine used to manufacture housing insulation, which could have overheated and exploded. When the fire broke out Wednesday afternoon, a third of the company’s 15,000 employees were on duty.

“Occupational health and safety issues are a social welfare concern. While the details of what happened directly fall under the mandate of the Department of Labor and Employment to determine, we at the DSWD want to assure the workers of HTI of our full support and our readiness to provide them assistance that is within the means of the DSWD,” said Taguiwalo.