THERE is a “mountain of trash” inside Imperial Pacific International’s unfinished casino-hotel in Garapan, in addition to the unusable construction equipment that littered the site and about 100 gallons of used oil at an IPI warehouse in Tanapag, former IPI Construction Team Manager Jess Aquiningoc said on Thursday.
He said they brought the matter to the attention of IPI management, but no action has been taken.
Aquiningoc said he and the other unpaid remaining employees of IPI believe that the public should know about the existence of these environmental hazards.
The barrels of used oil were taken from heavy equipment when construction activities were still ongoing, Aquiningoc said.
IPI knew where to bring the used oil for proper disposal, “but they couldn’t pay so they just kept them” at a Tanapag warehouse, he added.
One of IPI’s remaining security guards at the hotel-casino who requested anonymity said IPI’s warehouse is “in bad shape.”
It has been burglarized and some construction materials and tools are missing, the security guard said.
There is no security guard assigned to the warehouse, Variety learned.
Lawsuit
For her part, the wife of the owner of the Kase Building which is across from IPI said they may file a lawsuit for the business losses they have incurred because of the unsafe surroundings created by IPI’s tower crane 5.
The ABC Store is located in the Kase Building.
Elvira Yagi, the owner’s wife said customers feel unsafe because of the sight of the rusting tower crane on top of the IPI building.
“We are planning to sue whoever is responsible,” Mrs. Yagi said in an interview. She is also asking the responsible government agencies to “please don’t wait until another big typhoon comes.”
“The safety of everyone coming to our store is our concern. Everyone in this neighborhood has been asking me to reach out to the government, to bring that tower crane down,” Mrs. Yagi said.
She added that IPI still owes them $270,000 for unpaid rent. IPI, she said, rented office spaces on the second floor of their building for IPI’s construction team office.
When IPI vacated the office spaces in mid-2020, the casino investor had not been paying its rent for two years, she said.
As for tower crane 5, Aquiningoc said because it is already rusting from the bottom of the mast all the way to the top, it would take a lot of work before it could be dismantled.
He noted that the mast climbing platforms are also rusty and very unsafe for workers.
Tower crane 1, which is at the other side of the building, is worse, he said. “I doubt if they can even go up there,” he added.
A rusty forklift is seen at the Imperial Pacific International construction site in Garapan.
The Kase Building is across from the Imperial Pacific International construction site.
An IPI shuttle service vehicle and construction materials are surrounded by overgrown vegetation in Tanapag. Behind the building are eight barrels of used oil, according to former IPI construction team manager Jess Aquiningoc.
