Capitol needs OBO permit to build resource center
Before the P1.3 billion resource center at the Capitol grounds will be constructed, Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella said the proponent should seek building permit from the city’s Office of the Building Official (OBO).
Labella, who also sits as chairman of the Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission (CHAC), said OBO will also forward the application to the commission for review.
“Well, it’s still the subject of the consensus by CHAC. The historical significance and the heritage dimension of the building (will be looked into),” he told reporters.
Labella said the proponent should secure building permit from the city’s OBO since the structure will be constructed within the jurisdiction of the city.
While the proponent of the project may direct its application to the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, Labella said the city’s CHAC will also make a stand on the project since it received communication from groups expressing their concerns about the project.
“If there is a heritage and historical dimension, it should be submitted to CHAC and NHCP,” he added.
Section 48 B of the Heritage Act states as among the prohibited acts - “Modifies, alters, or destroys the original features of or undertakes construction or real estate development in any national shrine, monument, landmark and other historic edifices and structures, declared, classified, and marked by the National Historical Institute as such, without the prior written permission from the Commission. This includes the designated security or buffer zone, extending five (5) meters from the visible perimeter of the monument or site.”
Labella said CHAC is currently deliberating request from groups and individuals that expressed their concerns about the project.
He, however, declined to make further statements about the concerns of the individuals and groups about the project.
CHAC has received communications from Federation of United Architects of the Philippines, Eileen Mangubat, among others.
Mangubat, who serves in the Cebu Archdiocesan Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, is among the individuals that expressed reservations of the proposed project as she supports the conservation of Cebu’s cultural heritage.
“There was a request from some quarters and it’s being deliberated upon by CHAC now,” Labella said.