Camille Naredo

Government rescuers and local officials check on residents and businesses affected by the building collapse in Barangay Balibago, Angeles, Pampanga on May 25, 2026. Crews are currently working to restore internet and utility lines, though surrounding residential homes remain without electricity due to downed power lines.  Jonathan Callona, ABS-CBN News

Government rescuers and local officials check on residents and businesses affected by the building collapse in Barangay Balibago, Angeles, Pampanga on May 25, 2026. Crews are currently working to restore internet and utility lines, though surrounding residential homes remain without electricity due to downed power lines.
Jonathan Callona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

PAMPANGA

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1779720336024viber_image_2026-05-25_16-43-55-048.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Government rescuers and local officials check on residents and businesses affected by the building collapse in Barangay Balibago, Angeles, Pampanga on May 25, 2026. Jonathan Callona, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Government rescuers and local officials check on residents and businesses affected by the building collapse in Barangay Balibago, Angeles, Pampanga on May 25, 2026. <em>Jonathan Callona, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>ANGELES CITY, Pampanga (<strong>UPDATED</strong>) -- Emergency officials said late on Monday they had ended a two-day rescue operation for at least 12 people believed buried in the debris of <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2026/5/24/9-story-building-collapses-in-angeles-pampanga-19-safe-up-to-40-missing-0827">a collapsed building</a> in Angeles City, Pampanga.</p><p>The bodies of four people, including a Malaysian man and two trapped construction workers, have so far been pulled from the debris of the nine-storey condominium project that collapsed onto a nearby hotel in the city of Angeles north of Manila early on Sunday.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/25/2-confirmed-dead-18-still-missing-in-pampanga-building-collapse-0735">READ: Pampanga building collapse toll hits four, 17 missing</a></div><p>There had been hope earlier on Monday when thermal sensors detected what rescue officials described as &quot;<a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2026/5/24/signs-of-life-detected-rescuers-race-to-save-workers-in-collapsed-angeles-city-building-2231">signs of life</a>&quot; in one area of the wreckage. However, no survivors or further bodies were subsequently found, regional fire bureau spokeswoman Maria Leah Sajili said.</p><p>The rescue operation was formally declared over on Monday night and the search was suspended overnight before &quot;retrieval operations&quot; begin on Tuesday, she told reporters.</p><p>The Malaysian man, who was a guest in the hotel, and the two construction workers were all found trapped but alive on Sunday.</p><p>However, all three died before they could be pulled from the rubble.</p><p>The fourth confirmed fatality has not yet been identified.</p><p>Angeles City Chief Public Information Officer Jay Pelayo confirmed they will be shifting to retrieval operations by Tuesday morning, May 26.</p><p>&quot;Base sa mga testing, nakaka-receive din sila ng mga false positives. Hanggang sa consistent, paulit-ulit na paggamit ng life locator, bandang 6:00 p.m. po, doon sa final testing, consistent na po ito sa kanilang findings na there&#x27;s no sign of life na,&quot; Pelayo explained.</p><p>&quot;Nag-stop na po officially &#x27;yung ating search and rescue operations... Tomorrow morning po, we&#x27;ll begin the retrieval operations. Gagamitin na po natin dito &#x27;yung mga heavy equipment to start clearing the area,&quot; he added.</p><p>Seventeen people had originally been listed as missing but rescue officials said one of them contacted officials on Monday to confirm he had not been in the area at the time, Sajili said.</p><p>She said that most of the remaining 16 were construction workers who were sleeping at the site at the time.</p><p>Officials said up to 70 people were employed at the construction site, although most had gone home for the weekend.</p><p>Alfredo Albis, 55, told AFP he believed two of his cousins who worked with him at the building site were among the missing.</p><p>&quot;They were working here to earn for their families,&quot; said Albis, who was asleep at a nearby barracks for workers when the structure collapsed.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- Lack of safety gear -</strong></div><p>The cause of the collapse is not yet known, but regulators had been monitoring the project.</p><p>Labor department inspectors shut the site down briefly in September 2024 over occupational safety standards violations, regional labor department official Geraldine Panlilio said on Monday.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/25/dilg-assures-no-let-up-in-rescue-ops-after-pampanga-building-collapse-1845">READ: DILG assures no let-up in rescue ops after Pampanga building collapse</a></div><p>&quot;Our labor inspectors had monitored poor working conditions, a violation that would put our workers at risk,&quot; Panlilio said in an interview on Manila radio station DZMM.</p><p>Its workers &quot;lacked safety gear&quot; such as hard hats, boots, safety belts and lifelines, and worked under poor lighting and with no visible safety signage, she said.</p><p>Construction resumed a month after the shutdown when the contractor complied with safety requirements, Panlilio said.</p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>The local government of Angeles City said it has stopped search and rescue operations at the site of the collapsed 9-storey building after no longer detecting any signs of life almost two days after the incident.</p>

The local government of Angeles City said it has stopped search and rescue operations at the site of the collapsed 9-storey building after no longer detecting any signs of life almost two days after the incident.

Angeles LGU to shift to retrieval ops after 'no signs of life detected' in collapsed building

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Angeles LGU to shift to retrieval ops after 'no signs of life detected' in collapsed building

Faith Brown,

Agence France-Presse; ABS-CBN News

Published May 25, 2026 10:57 PM PHT

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Updated May 26, 2026 12:04 AM PHT

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Pampanga

Angeles City

search and rescue

retrieval

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