Remove crane on flight path, Sara Duterte tells firm

DAVAO CITY — Mayor Sara Duterte threatened to demolish a crane mounted on top of a condominium building under construction here after the building’s developer failed to bring the crane down.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) had also asked the contractor to bring down the boom cranes on top of the building being constructed in Bajada village because these were on the flight path of planes and posed danger to aircraft using the Davao International Airport.

“I asked them to remove the crane within five days excluding Saturday and Sunday,” Duterte said.

“Within five days they have to remove it. I think they are now aware that they should remove it,” she said.

She admitted that the developer, FTC, had asked for an extension of the deadline to remove the boom crane but she rejected it.

“I did not approve of it. They said they could not spend beyond their budget just to take down that crane. Then I said no extension. We should not be the ones adjusting. It should be them,” Duterte said.

She said the company, which is building what was touted to be Mindanao’s tallest building at 33 floors, should heed government regulations and this included conforming with the Caap rule on heights of buildings on aircraft flight paths.

“They have put lives in danger because of that crane that [has] violated the rules of the Caap,” Duterte said. —FRINSTON LIM