DPWH reorganizes panel to review building code
THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) recently reconstituted the committee in charge of reviewing the National Building Code of the Philippines (NBCP).
In a statement, the DPWH said that it reorganized the National Building Code Review Committee (NBCRC) to strengthen the implementation of the NBCP and its implementing rules and regulations.
The National Building Code (NBC), outlined in Presidential Decree No. 1096, lays out the technical requirements for constructing or renovating buildings and structures.
The provisions of the NBC apply to the design, location, siting, construction, alteration, repair, conversion, use, occupancy, maintenance, moving, demolition of, and addition to public and private buildings and structures, with the exception of traditional indigenous family dwellings.
DPWH Assistant Secretary Gilberto S. Reyes will head the NBCRC.
Other members of the newly reorganized committee include Bureau of Design Director Dante B. Potante, Bureau of Construction Director Walter B. Ocampo, Bureau of Maintenance Director Ernesto S. Gregorio, Jr., Bureau of Research and Standards Director Reynaldo G. Tagundado, Legal Services Director Estrella T. Decena-Zaldivar, Planning Services Director Constante A. Llanes, Jr., UPMO- Buildings Management Cluster Project Director Patrick B. Gatan and NBCP- Board of Consultants Chairman Ernesto S. De Castro.
The NBCRC members will evaluate concerns and recommend courses of action on issues and concerns raised by professional technical organizations.
The NBCRC will be assisted by a technical working group which will initially review and approve the work or proposals to be made by the NBCP-Board of Consultants.
The NBCP- Board of Consultants is composed of representatives from various government offices as well as non- government organizations, such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Health ( DoH), Department of Justice ( DoJ), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP), Institute of Electronics Engineers of the Philippines ( IECEP), Institute of Integrated Electrical Engineers of the Philippines, Inc. ( IIEE), National Master Plumbers Association of the Philippines ( NAMPAP), Philippine Association of Building Officials (PABO), Philippine Society of Agricultural Engineers ( PSAE), Philippine Institute of Mechanical Engineers ( PSME) and Philippine Society of Sanitary Engineers (PSSE).
The consultants will be tasked with identifying the provisions of NBCP that need to be updated or amended. —