Explain bldg permit application process

CEBU, Philippines -  The Cebu City Council has asked the Office of the Building Official (OBO), Cebu City Zoning Board, and the Cebu City Planning and Development Office to send representatives to the council’s executive session on January 21 to explain and clarify the process in applying for permits for land use.

In a resolution that the council approved, Councilor Nestor Archival said explanation is necessary because of “gaps” in the processing of applications for building permits, Preliminary Approval for Locational Clearances, Application for Site Development Plan, and other permits relative to land use.

“There is a need to revisit the implementation of the processes in applying such permits in order to harmonize with the City’s land development policies and to prevent the ping-pong of the documents between offices,” Archival said.

Archival claimed that Cebu City has continued to be “economically progressive as evident with the thriving construction or building industry that consequentially intensifies the land use in the urban area of the city.”

He said that if not used efficiently, the rapid growth and emergence of commercial or residential buildings will lead to congestion and will affect the city’s landscape.

“The Cebu City Zoning Board, in close coordination with the Cebu City Planning and Development Office and the Office of the Building Official, is tasked to administer, interpret, control and review the land use in order to be in line with the City’s overall land development policies and strategies,” he said.

Last month, the City Council deferred the issuance of a building permit to AppleOne Properties, Inc. in Banawa Heights after the company failed to secure a development permit for its housing project.

The developer will be constructing 19 buildings but a report by Councilor Ma. Nida Cabrera says only two of the 19 have permits.

In its defense, AppleOne Properties, Inc. through its chief operations officer Ferdinand Vargas said the company has complied with the necessary requirements for the permit.

He said while it is true that the company has 19 buildings, they submitted only five building permit applications to OBO because they only have five building types of description.  (FREEMAN)