Mandatory structural checks for 15-year-old QC buildings sought

MANILA Philippines—A Quezon City councilor has proposed requiring all buildings, 15 years or older, to be inspected and assessed for structural stability with the city straddling the West Valley Fault.

In his draft ordinance, district 5 councilor Karl Edgar Castelo suggested penalizing with a fine of P5,000 or a year’s imprisonment and denial of local permits to building administrators and owners who fail to secure structure stability certificates.

Castelo cited the 2004 Metro Manila Earthquake Impact Reduction Study, which has been focused on the extent of destruction in case of a magnitude 7.3 earthquake hitting the National Capital Region (NCR). Included in the study are numerous earthquake sources around Metro Manila such as the West Valley Fault in the northeastern part of Quezon City.

“Earthquakes are known to cause buildings and bridges to collapse, trigger widespread fires, cut power, water and means of communication. Surviving an earthquake and reducing its destructive impact requires preparation, planning and readiness,” Castelo said.

He pointed that in order to reduce death and destruction, the city must ensure that buildings, particularly those over 15 years old, could withstand an earthquake triggered by the movement of the West Valley Fault.  Therefore, he said, structural stability inspection should be mandatory.

In the proposed measure all Quezon City buildings, 15 years old and above, are to be inspected, tested and assessed for structural stability while their owners and administrators will be required to submit yearly certificates of Structural Soundness and Stability of their buildings to the local office of the building official.

The building owners and administrators are also required to inform the Quezon City building official if their structures need retrofitting or rehabilitation and are to post copies of their certificates of structural soundness and stability prominently in their premises.

Building owners and administrators who fail to comply with the requirements face a fine of P5,000 or one-year imprisonment or both, at the discretion of a court, and would not be issued local permits to enable them to operate.

The local building official as well as the business permits and licensing office will be tapped to enforce the measure and draft the implementing rules and regulations.—With a report from Andrea Ocampo, trainee