Condo construction stopped after cave-in

CONSTRUCTION work of an 18-storey building in Barangay Lorega San Miguel, Cebu City was suspended yesterday after the soil beneath the sidewalk caved in.

The Office of the Building Official (OBO) issued the suspension order last Monday to Richard King, of Fuente Osmeña Triangle Development Corp., owner of Citi Loft Condominium on Gen. Maxilom Ave.

The suspension order was based on the recommendation of Engr. Pascual Gimenez, the chief of OBO’s enforcement division. It was received by Renor Dagatan of Asec Development Construction Corp., the contractor of the said condominium project.

In the suspension order, Building Official Kenneth Carmelita Enriquez said the developer should concentrate on strengthening the shorings and bracings of the excavation to avert another collapse.

The developer was also required to submit a methodology to protect the sides of the excavation and a methodology to protect the street from further cave-ins.

Assistant Building Official Florante Catalan said the developer submitted the methodologies yesterday to be assessed by their consultant.

A team of inspectors led by Catalan conducted an ocular inspection at the construction site yesterday to see if the order was followed.

“Ato lang gi-check kung ni-stop sila sa construction work, mao nga among gi-inspect. So atong nakita nga nihunong sila (We found out that they stopped the construction),” Catalan said.

The assistant building official said the sidewalk posed imminent danger to the public, so they advised the developer to apply for sidewalk enclosure while the restoration is on-going.

Catalan said they won’t lift the suspension order of the condominium project until the requirements for the remediation works are complied with.

Site inspector Annabelle Almario-Bacalso said they only learned about the incident last Friday when they visited the construction site.

Bobby Saberon, OBO data encoder, said King applied for a building permit for an 18-storey Citi Loft Condominium last year and it was approved and released last May 21, 2012.

Sun.Star Cebu tried to get the side of ASEC Dev. Const. Corp, a Manila-based construction company, but its project engineer refused to be interviewed.

Citi Loft was the second condominium project along Gen. Maxilom Ave., whose construction work was suspended by the OBO this year.

Last April, work on what is expected to be the city’s tallest residential condominium, Horizon 101, was suspended after part of its slope protection wall collapsed, affecting more than ten families living near the construction site.

The cease-and-desist order, however, was lifted by OBO last July after the developer completed the remediation works.