ILLEGAL STRUCTURE This three-story structure was used as a storage facility for the owner’s glass and aluminum business. —PHOTO FROM JAMES DEAKIN’S FB PAGE
The Quezon City government is looking into filing a criminal complaint against the owner of an “illegal” three-story structure that fell into a creek in Barangay Del Monte on Friday.
A statement issued by the local government said that while no one was hurt, its probe into the incident revealed the unnamed owner had failed to secure a building permit from the Department of Building Official (DBO) before erecting the structure.
The DBO recommended that the owner be charged with violating Section 301 of the National Building Code, which states that no person can construct or even repair a building or structure without first obtaining a permit. Violators can be fined up to P20,000 and jailed for up to two years.
The structure was being used as a storage facility for the owner’s glass and aluminum business, according to the local government. It was situated in an area populated by informal settlers and gave rise to fears that nearby structures might be similarly vulnerable to collapse.
“The Housing Community Development and Resettlement Department suggested the immediate relocation of around 105 informal settler families in Barangay Del Monte, 20 of them living on West Riverside Street, the site of the incident,” the local government said.
It added that it would work with the National Housing Authority to speed up the transfer of families living along the waterway.
The DBO, Engineering Department and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office also endorsed a reclaiming of the easement and a tie-up with the Department of Public Works and Highways to set up a wall that would protect the site from erosion.
News of the incident went viral on Facebook after television host James Deakin posted photos of the damaged structure that had been sent to him by a West Riverside Street resident. It was unclear whether the unidentified sender was the owner of the structure.
“We are not new to flooding but we are new to erosion, which is happening in our area,” the sender had told Deakin. “I want to share this because up until now, I am traumatized and scared.” INQ