‘Update Building Code to prevent bigtime damage from Big One quake’
MANILA, Philippines — The difference between life and death for the 13 million residents of Metro Manila lies in the improvement of a nearly 46-year-old decree that laid down rules on the design and construction of buildings, an urban planner said.
As the specter of the so-called “Big One” earthquake spooks the megacity especially after the devastating magnitude-7.8 tremor that shook Türkiye and Syria, renowned urban planner Jun Palafox recommended updating the 1977 National Building Code before it is too late.
The Big One refers to the worst case scenario for Metro Manila should the West Valley Fault, which cuts through the capital region, move and generate a magnitude-7.2 quake as shown in a 2004 joint study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and Phivolcs.
“As the worst case, 170,000 residential houses will collapse, 340,000 residential houses will be partly damaged, 34,000 persons will die, 114,000 persons will be injured. Fire will break out and burn approximately 1,710 hectares and totally 18,000 additional persons will be killed by this secondary disaster,” read the study.
Speaking over ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo, Palafox flagged that the code only prescribes a one-meter distance between tall buildings which he said raised some eyebrows at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
“Some delegates were puzzled why our building code allows this,” he said in Filipino.
This is just one supposed flaw found in the code, with Sen. Francis Tolentino — who is also pushing amendments to it in the upper chamber — raising concerns over the issuances of “lifetime” occupancy permits to building owners.
“An occupancy permit is issued to a building owner immediately after construction. So whatever happens after that, the government has nothing to do with that,” Tolentino said on ABS-CBN News Channel’s Rundown. “The occupancy permit should not be a lifetime permit. It has to be renewed periodically.”
Bills to improve or overhaul the Building Code are still pending at the committee level in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Subdivisions and houses built on top of fault lines must also be demolished, Palafox said, and be set back five meters from these.
In addition, he said there should be more open spaces as these not only serve as “lungs” of cities but also turn into evacuation sites when disaster strikes.
“It’s 90% less expensive to address the hazard before it becomes a disaster,” Palafox said. — Xave Gregorio
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