THE Cebu City Legal Office has denied the occupancy permit (OP) application of Taft Property Ventures for the land developer’s Tower 2 of its Horizons 101 condominium project along General Maxilom Ave., Cebu City.
In a legal opinion issued by City Attorney Rey Gealon, City Hall found no legal basis to issue a full OP for the 46-story building as the developer reportedly lacked several requirements under the National Building Code of the Philippines.
Last Nov. 11, Taft Properties vice president and deputy chief operating officer Myra Lynn Gilig sent a letter to Mayor Edgardo Labella requesting the approval of the company’s OP application so that the last remaining floors of Tower 2, from the 36th to 46th, could now be used.
Gilig told Labella that they had been coordinating with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) for the joint construction of a drainage system which they still lacked.
Before issuing his opinion, Gealon met with Florante Catalan, officer-in-charge of the Office of the Building Official (OBO), to discuss Taft’s OP application.
Catalan recounted to Gealon that the OBO asked Gilig last Nov. 25 to submit evidentiary documents regarding Taft’s agreement with DPWH and DEPW together with other requirements needed for the prompt evaluation of the developer’s OP application.
“It appears that as of date, Myra Lynn R. Gilig did not comply with the directive of OBO and instead opted to directly request the City Mayor for the issuance of OP sans further compliance to OBO requirements,” read part of Gealon’s legal opinion.
“It must be emphasized that laws apply to all. There can be no exception when there is none allowed by law. There is neither legal nor factual basis for their request,” Gealon added.
City Engineer Kenneth Carmelita Enriquez, for her part, said the developer could not be issued a Tapping Permit because it lacked public drainage.
“Taft proposed to do it through tax credit. They will construct the drainage system up to Lahug river. Now the ball is in OBO’s hands if they are okay to issue an OP while the drainage design is still on-going for implementation by Taft,” Enriquez said in a mix of Cebuano and English.
An inspection on the property conducted by OBO last Aug. 5, showed that Taft Properties needed to comply with 12 other requirements aside from the dainage construction.
According to the OBO report, the developer also lacked requirements pertaining to the building’s architectural section, electrical section, sanitation and plumbing. It also needed a clearance from the City Treasurer’s Office.
A temporary OP for Tower 2 was issued by OBO from the building’s basement until the 35th floor.
Sought for comment, Gilig said Taft Properties is currently working to comply with all the necessary requirements so that the OP can be issued for the remaining floors of Tower 2.
“It’s not a violation. These are requirements that we have to comply with. Mostly, we have to purchase something and install. It’s more of a compliance.” Gilig told SunStar.
“We are done with the accelerogram and the clearance from the contractors. The third requirement is being coordinated with the Cebu City Engineering Office,” she added in a mix of Cebuano and English.
The accelerogram is an earthquake recording device also known as a seismograph.
Horizons 101 is a two-tower residential condo near Fuente Osmeña Circle which is considered to be Cebu City’s tallest building now.
“For the first to 35th floors of Tower 2, for which we already have an occupancy permit, there are already some occupants. But for the 36th to 46th, there are still no occupants,” Gilig said.
Gilig added that Taft Properties was eyeing to complete its remaining requirements with the DEPW by the first quarter of next year, 2020. (PAC, WBS, RHB)