Mall faces closure over road project

A popular mall in Binondo, Manila, faces closure after city councilors alleged that its construction of a service road blocked the waterway beside the establishment.

In a report released last week, the Manila City Council accused 168 Mall of violating the Water Code of the Philippines and a city ordinance when it built a service road that caused an “estero” (creek) running alongside it to almost “disappear.”

The councilors, led by oversight committee chairman Joel Chua, earlier recommended the cancellation of the mall’s building and business permits.

Chua told reporters that his committee conducted an investigation for months after some residents complained about the construction of the road.

“The construction… by the subject shopping mall beyond the [allowed] easement that practically occupied the large portion of the estero obstructs or interferes with the free passage of any body of water,” the committee report read.

The near-disappearance of the creek, which runs beside Juan

Luna Street, has led to flooding in the area during heavy rains, Chua said.

The city councilors also recommended the filing of graft charges against the mall owners and city building officer Melvin Balagot who approved the road project.

“There was a road expansion that extended beyond the allowed easement but it didn’t block the estero. It acted like a cantilever above it,” Balagot told the Inquirer in a phone interview.

He added that the road project was implemented by the mall owners in coordination with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.