Francis Tolentino and Carmelo Lazatin Jr. inspected retrieval operations Wednesday at the collapsed building site in Barangay Balibago, Angeles City, as authorities continued searching for missing workers trapped beneath the rubble.
The two officials were accompanied during the inspection by Angeles City Mayor Jon Lazatin.
Tolentino said inspections of construction sites should be intensified to prevent similar incidents, adding that one major issue was workers and their families staying inside construction areas.
He stressed that safer and proper accommodations should be provided for laborers.
The labor chief also offered prayers for additional survivors as retrieval and rescue operations continued at the site.
Earlier, Tolentino ordered the preventive suspension of Geraldine Panlilio amid the ongoing investigation into the collapse.
He said the suspension was necessary to ensure an impartial probe and prevent possible interference while investigations are underway.
Panlilio, meanwhile, said she would comply with the order while maintaining that her office was not negligent in carrying out its duties.
Authorities said four people have so far been confirmed dead.
The first identified fatality was a Malaysian national with a disability who had been staying at an adjacent apartelle crushed by falling debris from the structure.
Rescuers have so far pulled 26 individuals alive from the ruins, including 24 workers from the main structure and two occupants from the nearby apartelle.
Authorities said around 16 to 17 workers remain missing beneath the collapsed concrete and steel structure.
