Mayor Tomas Osmeña assured employees that the executive building of City Hall is safe despite the recent discovery of cracks at the basement parking area of the eight-storey structure.
He said there is no reason to transfer the offices and abandon the building because the cracks are not something that are high risk.
“I’m assuring them (City Hall employees) of their safety. The mayor is here, what more assurance do you want,” Osmeña said.
“Now when the mayor will transfer to another building, then you have something to worry about.”
The mayor said that he checked the cracks himself and he saw water leaking through them, which makes him believe that there is some kind of erosion underneath the foundation of the building.
“But you see our building’s foundation is based like a snow ski. It has a matting there. It is not based on one or two piles. It is something like floating. So, anyway, what is important is that there is no sign of any cracks on the structural load-bearing posts at the City Hall. It is just the floor,” Osmeña told reporters.
Despite that, he said that he already had it investigated by Engr. Josefa Ylanan, head of the Office of Building Official and by Ricky Dakay, who he considers as the best structural engineer in the city.
The mayor did not appear worried at all and even joked: “Water is just seeping through. We can convert it to salt beds.”
Osmeña also said that he has already talked with City Engineer Antonio Sanchez, who said in an earlier interview that the cracks are not something that could cause alarm.
The city will also call in W.T. Construction, which constructed the building some eight years ago, to look at their original building plan, he added.
Members of the City Hall’s civil security unit have discovered the cracks several days go.
They said water is seeping through the cracks then later dried into white crystalline substance with salt-like texture and taste.
The other day, they reported what they saw to the Engr. Ylanan who immediately conducted an inspection in the area together with City Hall consultant Rogelio Serato, a structural engineer.
Osmeña also said he does not believe that the cracks might be caused by the diggings for the construction of the Subway at the nearby South Coastal Road. — Wenna A. Berondo/NLQ