Jinggoy inspects Hanjin shipyard in Subic | SubicNewsLink

06 February 2009

Jinggoy inspects Hanjin shipyard in Subic

A day after Sen. Jinggoy Estrada grilled Hanjin during the Senate inquiry, he personally made a site inspection at the controversial shipyard in this Freeport.

Hanjin has been under fire after it has recorded 19 deaths and a number of accidents involving their workers.

Estrada arrived at Hanjin 1:30 p.m. via boat.

He immediately wanted to do a spot inspection but was told that there would be a brief power point presentation at the fourth floor of the administration building of Hanjin.

The presentation was at its half way when Estrada interrupted and said that he wanted to proceed with the inspection.

Estrada then went to the ground floor, walking towards the direction of the cafeteria but was irked when he was told the door was closed and he could not pass through there.

He then boarded a bus provided by Hanjin then shortly stopped at an assembly area although no workers were there. The senator then demanded to the Hanjin director that he be brought to an area where he could talk to workers. He later realized the workers were reluctant to speak with him.

A worker who requested not to be named told The Times that management was evidently monitoring them during the inspection, which was the reason for their hesitance to speak with the senator. “We might lose our jobs,” the worker noted.

Even members of media were having a hard time getting interviews with the workers.

Another round of inquiry regarding the deaths and accident at Hanjin has been set for Wednesday at the senate. (Anthony Bayarong, Manila Times)

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