Tuesday, August 07, 2007 Bry. Camputhaw officials also order contractor to fix immediately damaged portion of road
CAMPUTHAW barangay officials yesterday ordered the digging for a hotel construction stopped and for its contractor to fix the damaged portion of J. Solon St. immediately.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña also ordered an investigation on the project of Young Builders Corp., the contractor of the 25-story hotel under construction at the corner of J. Solon and Escario Sts. in Camputhaw.
During an ocular inspection yesterday, Barangay Captain Lorenzo Basamot ordered construction engineers to stop the diggings and to fix the road.
Construction may resume only after the damaged portion of J. Solon is fixed and until the contractor secures all the needed clearances.
Order
“I only gave verbal orders but tomorrow I will give them a cease-and-desist order for them to stop the diggings and to get the necessary permits that they don’t have,” Basamot told Sun.Star Cebu.
The contractor closed a portion of the street and fenced off two sides of their construction without clearance and permits from the barangay and the City Government, the barangay official said.
Barangay tanods were sent to the area yesterday to make sure construction work will not resume.
Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem earlier demanded a public apology from Young Builders for closing half of the two-lane road without City approval.
As a result of the digging, a portion of the road caved in after a heavy downpour last Wednesday.
Jakosalem said they will give the contractor a chance to explain to the City Attorney’s Office why they did not immediately report the cave-in.
He further said there are safety concerns that have to be addressed by the contractor and the building owner, Cebu Renful Development Corp.
On orders of the mayor, the matter will be referred to the City Attorney’s Office for the latter to study what other violations the contractor has committed.
It will also be up to the legal office to recommend what fines and penalties should be imposed on the contractor and the building owner, said Jakosalem.
He will also ask the legal office to check if the contractor has complied with the four-meter setback from the property line, as required by a city ordinance.
On edge
“From what I saw, the digging was on the edge of the property so we will have that checked as well. The mayor ordered an investigation on this so we will refer it to the City Attorney’s Office. This has to be looked into because we don’t want to set a precedent for other future construction projects,” the councilor said.
In a phone interview yesterday, Assistant Cebu City Building Official Josefa Ylanan said their office will send an inspection team to the construction site anytime.
Specifically, the digging and the portion of the road that caved in will have to be checked, since rainwater usually flows down to the area.
“We will have to send an inspection team. The fences are there as protection but we will have it checked especially because in that area, anha gyud mudahili ang tubig gikan sa taas ug kusog ang uwan (that’s were the water flows down during heavy rains),” Ylanan said. (LCR)
