The Employees’ Compensation Commission has pledged to provide maximum assistance to the injured workers and the families of more than 70 workers whose lives were taken away by the recent fire incident in the Kentex Manufacturing Corporation, Valenzuela City.

“The ECC will ensure that all the workers in the list provided by the City Government of Valenzuela or their families will be accorded the benefits from the Employees’ Compensation Program,” Labor and Employment Secretary and ECC Chairperson Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz said.

Baldoz explained that there is a need to spare the victims and their families from the submission of several documentary requirements in the processing of their EC benefits. Thus, the ECC issued Board Resolution No. 15-05-21 to hasten the grant of EC benefits to the workers who survived the tragedy and/or to the families of workers who perished in the conflagration.

The ECC, through the said board resolution, directed SSS to immediately process and release the corresponding EC benefits to the workers who survived the tragedy.

According to the board resolution, submission of the list of casualties issued by the City Government of Valenzuela would be enough to process and eventually release the payment of EC sickness/injury benefit and the initial payment of EC death benefits.

The board resolution also provides that ECC will furnish SSS the list of casualties of Kentex fire incident, and in turn, SSS will disseminate the list to all concerned SSS branches that have jurisdiction to process the EC benefits based on the addresses of the survivors/families of the victims whose names appear on the list.

“It is fortunate that SSS is in tune with the ECC’s aim of providing maximum assistance to the victims and/or their families,” said ECC Executive Director Stella Zipagan-Banawis.

Banawis also mentioned that the ECC Quick Response Program Team has already been deployed to brief the victims or their families about the ECP benefits and assist them in the filing of EC claim at the SSS.