SURIGAO CITY (MindaNews / 26 Nov) – To address the problem of illegal structures built around the city, the city government is bent on creating the Office of Building Official (OBO).
City chief legal officer Manuel Delani said Mayor Ernesto T. Matugas would create the office to oversee ongoing constructions, and even already constructed buildings in the city.
He stressed that there are many structures here built illegally, violating the building code. He pointed out that homes, buildings and other structures have been built along walkways, some right beside the road.
Delani said the City Engineering Office is currently given the task to run after the illegal structures but pointed out it could not fully execute the task because of lack of jurisdiction. “It’s the job of OBO, not City Engineering,” he said.
He said OBO will also look at the old structures of business establishments. “They will check the integrity and soundness of the structure if it’s safe for use,” Delani told MindaNews.
He said Mayor Matugas, being an engineer himself, is the one urging for the creation of the OBO.
“The mayor has seen this problem over the years and it is now the right time to give a solution,” the lawyer said.
Under Republic Act 6541, otherwise known as the National Building Code of the Philippines, the city government should establish an Office of the Building Official for this purpose.