NOT all buildings in Mandaue City get checked every year by city inspectors.
Engr. Andres Suson of the City Engineering Office said they asked private building owners to submit a document certifying that their buildings have been inspected by a private engineer, since the City lack inspectors, but not all are complying.
Suson said they are now creating a database to monitor the compliance of building owners from 2008 to 2015.
“By next year, we will know which buildings are not inspected yearly,” he said in a recent news conference organized by the Mandaue City Public Information Office.
Six inspectors
Suson said the Office of the Building Offical (OBO), which is under the City Engineering Office, only has six inspectors who have to perform other functions.
City Planning and Development Officer Florentino Nimor said a plan to separate the OBO from the City Engineering Office is underway.
If the OBO becomes a separate department, Nimor said, its personnel can focus on enforcing the Building Code and processing building permits.
The City Engineering Office can also focus on planning projects and constructing and maintaining infrastructure.
Services
“This setup will improve our services,” said Nimor, adding that the plan will soon be taken up by the City Council.
In the meantime, Suson urged private building owners to submit to the OBO and City Engineering Office a document certifying the structural stability of their buildings.
“We can inspect public buildings every year but for private buildings, which are too many, that’s hard to do,” he said.
Suson added that buildings are best inspected by the engineers who designed them.