Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez will call the attention of the Office of the Building Official (OBO) and the Permits and Licensing Office to ensure the implementation of City Ordinance (CO) No. 08-16-774 or the Accessibility Ordinance for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and Senior Citizens in relation to Batas Pambansa Bilang 344 or an Act to Enhance the Mobility of Disabled Persons by Requiring Certain Buildings, Institutions, Establishments and Public Utilities to Install Facilities and other Devices, lawyer Caesar Distrito, spokesperson of Benitez, said Thursday, March 21.
This, after the City Council approved a resolution on Wednesday, March 20, requesting the OBO and Permits and Licensing Office to strictly enforce the said ordinance.
The resolution was authored by Councilor Simplicia Distrito, chairperson of the City Council committee on social services and development.
Distrito said it has been observed that so many buildings and establishments within the city of Bacolod that are not compliant to the provisions of the laws.
“There were also complaints from our senior citizens and PWD groups the lack of facilities that can enhance their mobility and access and appealed for the city government to give utmost attention to this matter as a way of promoting their interest and affording them equal opportunity,” she said.
Caesar also said that Mayor Benitez is supportive to this resolution and to the plight of the PWDs.
“This ordinance is already a law, and there is no other recourse but to implement this,” he said.
He added the mayor will call the attention of OBO and Permits and Licensing Office to make sure that in every structural plan of every building in the city, the requirement setforth in CO No. 08-16-774 in relation to BP 344 should be incorporated and will make sure that this will be PWD-friendly structure.*