COMELEC SEES 85% TURNOUT TOMORROW
THE MORE LOCAL, THE BETTER
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Some 31 developers of mediumand high-rise buildings may now push through with their applications for building permits from Cebu City Hall.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña last week directed the Office of the Building Official (OBO) to lift the freeze order on the pending permit applications of the private developers.
“I have lifted the ban on highrise construction. We will release the order, but they will have to follow the new rules on the Building Code, which I think, still makes it unsafe,” Osmeña told reporters in a news conference last May 10.
“At this point, I don’t want to stop the development. But I am just telling the people of Cebu that the way the laws are being done, it’s not safe,” he said.
Osmeña last week signed an order addressed to Building Official Engr. Josefa Ylanan and Zoning Administrator Dr. Jose Guisadio on the provisions for fire safety design and practice for high-rise buildings.
This includes directing the zoning administrator and the building official to immediately process all applications for clearances and permits pursuant to the provisions of the National Building Code and all other existing laws, rules and regulations, and on the condition that the criteria for review, evaluation and approval are strictly followed.
It also provides for a third-party peer review and inspection that will be conducted by service providers accredited by the City every three years.
As to the building of the project, only contractors with licenses issued by the Philippine Contractors’ Accreditation Board can perform both general and special construction works.
Last January, the mayor said he wanted to temporarily impose a ban on the construction of some high-rise buildings until several safety concerns are addressed.
The pronouncement came as a response to the blaze the struck Metro Ayala last Jan. 5.
Earlier, Osmeña said he wanted the inability to control a major fire to be addressed before he allows the construction of high-rise buildings to resume.
But considering the bulk of applications at OBO, the mayor decided to allow developers to process their permit applications. “There are so many pending projects and I don’t really have time to go into the details because I am not an engineer. But we really have to amend something along the way. We can’t rely on sprinklers and fire ladders,” Osmeña said.