Tragic Building Collapse in Angeles, Philippines

In Angeles, Philippines, Lea Casilao and her husband, Joselito, usually exchanged morning texts. Her ‘Good morning’ would be met by his ‘Good morning, love.’ But last Sunday, no response came from Joselito.

Joselito was staying at the workers’ barracks on Saturday night. They had been messaging until the evening, suggesting he was among those trapped after a building under construction in Angeles, north of Manila, collapsed at dawn on Sunday.

The search and rescue efforts ended on Monday evening. Rescuers used life locator equipment and found no signs of life under the debris. On Tuesday, the focus shifted to recovering the victims’ remains.

Casilao expressed her grief, saying, “My hope of still finding him alive has collapsed.”

She had planned to meet her husband at the construction site on Sunday afternoon, where he was to pick her up. When she could not contact him, she went directly to the site and saw the destruction. “I kept calling his number, but nothing,” she said, as she sat in a makeshift tent while debris clearance continued.

Other families sat nearby, also waiting anxiously. “We know how hard this is for you,” said Maria Leah Sajili, information officer at the regional Bureau of Fire Protection. “We sympathize with what you are going through. Rest assured, we did everything we could to save lives, and now we have to move forward,” she added.

At least four people died, including a Malaysian national whose body was recovered from an adjacent hotel building. Sixteen others, mostly construction workers, remain missing.

Nineteen-year-old Evelyn Alicaway lost her father in the collapse. She learned of the accident from her uncle and confirmed it was her father in a video on social media. “Even with his face blurred, I knew right away it was him. It hurt me so much to see my father like that,” Alicaway said at her father’s funeral.

An investigation is underway to determine why the building collapsed and if it breached its construction permit. Although nine stories were approved, a swimming pool was being constructed on the 10th floor.

The Philippine labor agency had halted work at the site in September 2025 over safety violations, but the order was lifted a month later after compliance was achieved.

“We hope the owner will take responsibility and address what happened to the workers. The families are also suffering. This is not what we wanted, but they need to coordinate with us,” said Rosenda, Alicaway’s mother.