CEBU City Mayor Michael Rama wanted to know if the mall construction project near a Muslim mosque in Basak San Nicolas would not interfere with a plan to widen the road in the area.
He also wanted to be certain that their traffic plan is enough to accommodate vehicle and human traffic that is expected to crowd the area when the construction project is completed.
Rama has directed the Office of the Building Officials (OBO) to check if the project complied with the required road setback.
The mayor also wanted the OBO to check the complaints of cracks on the walls of the nearby mosque, which was said to have been caused by the construction project.
“(But) for now I don’t want to intervene in their negotiations kay mas maayo nga sila usa ang mag storya storya,” said OBO head Josefina Ylanan.
Ylanan said her office already received the complaint on the Muslim mosque damage. But they were not able to immediately act on it because the complaint was brought to their office only on Nov. 4, which was after a long holiday.
Rama, for his part, said he didn’t want the project to intervene with a plan to widen N. Bacalso Avenue where the mall is located.
The road widening project is part of the Metro Cebu Land Use and Tranport Study (MCLUTS), he said.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Building Official gave Paravisible Construction Co. until Friday to decide if they would pay for the damages of the Al Khaitiah Mosque.
Imam Alladin Ubpon of the Al Khaitiah Mosque said that they would ask for payment for damages of the mosque.
Ponce Para, Paravisible Construction Co. vice president, refused to comment on the issue because the negotiations were still ongoing. /Reporter Doris Bongcac, Correspondent Edison Delos Angeles with Reporter Candeze Mongaya