A DAVAO City councilor is looking into harmonizing the city's building ordinance with the National Building Code of the Philippines.
Councilor Bai Cassandra Dominique Advincula, committee chair on housing and subdivision development, said there have been inconsistencies in the implementation.
"Naa'y provision man gud na gina-implement si OCBO (Office of the City Building) nga sa City Building Ordinance ga sunod. Pero mostly ga sunod sila sa implementation sa National Building Code. (There are some provisions of the City Building Ordinance that OCBO follows. However, most of the time, they are implementing what is stated in the National Building Code)," Advincula said Wednesday, September 18, during the 19th City Council Media Press Briefing.
She said that during the previous committee hearings, there have been inconsistencies, particularly on the rates to be imposed on collections and penalties.
She said the city had already legislated the City Building Ordinance prior to the existence of the National Building Code.
"We are reviewing these because their concern is the rates, which are 'outdated.' We are continuously asking for their proposed rate which would be competent in their target collection which the city government is imposing," Advincula said.
She said her committee is going to create a technical working group to study on the targeted amendments and possible inclusion to make the ordinance adaptive to the current policies of the national government.
The councilor said Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio wants to strengthen the penalization of building firms who fail to comply with the city's permit.
"Order man gud ni mayor is dapat muagi usa sa OCBO una sila magtukod og building. Ang nahitabo man gud is build before comply (The mayor ordered that all those who will be constructing their buildings must undergo compliance from OCBO. What happened now is they build before they comply)," Advincula said, adding that some would just pay the penalties of their violation.
The councilor is also looking into formulating an ordinance with regards to the integrity of old buildings, particularly in C.M. Recto Street, and even the City Hall of Davao and the City Council.