Formation of Philippine Ban Asbestos Network (PBAN) – Role of NUBCW as an Industry Union in Construction

Sometime in July 4, 2005 an educational seminar in Quezon City, Philippines marked the public debut of a new campaigning group: Philippines Ban Asbestos Network (PBAN). This forum brought together groups and individuals identified as key stakeholders and raised public awareness of the risks Filipinos face from exposure to asbestos. Together with the National Union of Building and Construction Workers (NUBCW), it was highly participated by environmental lawyers from a group called: Tanggol Kalikasan (translated loosely as Protect/Defend Environment); representatives of the members of the United Architects of the Philippines and the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines; Alex Lacson, a lawyer who works closely with the Subic Asbestosis Victims Association; officials from government agencies including: the Department of Trade and Industry (Bureau of Product Standards), the Department of Health and the Occupational Health and Safety Center; students from the University of the Philippines-Institute of Chemistry and journalists.

Dr. Marlito Cardenas, a former director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Environmental Management Bureau and one of the founding members of PBAN, talked about the composition of the new group and its objectives.

Describing asbestos and asbestos products as “silent but sure killers,” he said that asbestos was a huge threat to public as well as occupational health; rampant dumping of hazardous asbestos waste was rife and few, if any, safeguards protecting workers from hazardous exposures. Dr. Cardenas pointed out that current asbestos legislation and guidelines on asbestos management in the Philippines were woefully inadequate and called for a national ban on asbestos use.

The seminar had Dr. Pythias Espino, a Professor of Chemistry at the University of the Philippines, delivered a technical lecture, which focused on the fiber's chemical behavior and uses. The Professor revealed the risks Filipino workers face from hazardous asbestos exposures and cited the widespread availability and lower prices of asbestos-containing construction products and friction materials many of which are not labeled as containing asbestos.

Dr. Dina Diaz, the head of the Pulmonary Medicine Department of the Lung Center of the Philippines, described the health hazards of asbestos exposure, explaining its role in the causation of severe lung diseases. Data gathered from a study of former shipyard workers at the Subic Naval base was presented, which showed that amongst the 1,582 workers, 366 have been diagnosed with asbestosis and 132 are suffering from pleural disease.

Bro Meynardo “Nonoy” Palarca, NUBCW Secretary General, spoke of the role of trade unions in promoting health and safety in the workplace. Highly vulnerable are workers in the construction industry, who come into physical contact with asbestos containing products and materials. With this, education and awareness campaign needs wider coverage to include engineers and designers, project owners, contractors, supervisors and workers in the industry. Unions have to actively get involved in the joint occupational health and safety committees and heightened vigilance in reporting hazardous asbestos-containing construction materials present in work sites. Moreover, he stressed that more organised and un-unionised workers in workplaces and construction project sites can help in terms of responsible reporting, data gathering and monitoring of health hazards, more specifically asbestos-related issues.

Engr Bernard D. Bairoy
Natl Project Coordinator
FNV/LOFTF/OHSEI/NUBCW OHS Project

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