THE Office of the City Building Official (OCBO) collected a total of P137 million for building fees in January to December 2018.
OCBO head Cirinia Grace Catubig said in an interview with SunStar Davao Wednesday, February 6, that the total amount collected is a 35 percent increase from the total income of the office in 2017 which is only at P103 million.
“Kung nag-increase siya sa collection, that means daghan ang construction. Based ang computation sa floor area. In terms of economy, dako gyud ni og impact kay kung daghan ang mag-construct, daghan pud ang mag-hire og mga skilled workers like laborers for the construction (In terms of economy, there is a great impact for the increase of the building fees generated. This could mean more building constructions which may mean the need to hire more skilled workers),” Catubig said, adding that this may mean more employment for the Dabawenyos.
Catubig further said the highest increase was on commercial buildings and residential type.
Based on the document obtained by SunStar Davao from the OCBO, out of the total 7,586 building permits approved in 2018, 3,156 were residential type and 1,198 were commercial type. While 127 were institutional type and only 14 were industrial type.
She said that it could mean that more people are migrating to Davao City.
Meanwhile, Catubig said there is nothing to worry about these buildings arising in the city because they made sure they have complied with all necessary requirements especially in preserving and protecting the environment.
“Naa gyud na sila’y environmental compliance certificate. I-check ang drainage, environmental impact. Also assessment and mitigating measures para sa wastes (They already secured environmental compliance certificate. The drainage and environmental impact was checked and also its assessment and mitigating measures for its wastes),” she said.