Building code among 6 measures OK’d by House

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives passed on third and final reading on Aug. 9 six bills, one of which provides for a new National Building Code and another that defines and penalizes the act of bulk foreign currency smuggling.

With an overwhelming 266 votes, House Bill 8500 or the New Philippine Building Act was approved, amending the building code contained in Presidential Decree No. 1096 which was enacted on Feb. 19, 1977.

The bill shall regulate the “planning, design, construction, occupancy, maintenance, and demolition of buildings, promoting building resilience against earthquake, fire, flood, landslide, storm, volcanic eruption, and multiple hazards within an all-hazards approach to resilience building.”

A consolidation of 10 related measures, the bill shall also provide penalties for violations, including administrative sanctions, fines, and imprisonment of up to six years.

According to Speaker Martin Romualdez, the bill is intended to “protect the public against multiple hazards like fire, weather disturbances, and earthquakes better than our existing building laws and regulations.”

Romualdez said there are “many developments in building standards and technologies, climate change, and disaster risk reduction and management have since taken place,” warranting the Code to be updated.

1-Pacman party-list Rep. Mikee Romero said that the new New Philippine Building Act will  also contribute to ensuring the country’s food security.

According to him, there is a need to put in place “resilient and functionally sound buildings, from the simplest to the specialized, including farm structures to secure agricultural produce and help ensure food security.”

He also said that permit issuance processes have to be streamlined as well to distinguish simple construction work from the complex and high-hazard, together with their commensurate standards and requirements.

Also with 266 votes, the House passed HB 8200 or the “Anti-Bulk Foreign Currency Smuggling Act.”

This bill defines and penalizes the act of bulk foreign currency smuggling for any person found concealing through fraud, willful misdeclaration or other means the amount exceeding $10,000 when arriving or leaving any point of entry in the Philippines.

Romualdez underscored that the measure is aimed to preserve “the integrity of the country’s monetary system.” It also ensures that the Philippines will not be used as a transport point for money laundering.

“We will not allow our points of entry, like our ports and airports, to be used for any part of unlawful activities,” he added.

The measure provides that those who carry an amount that exceeds $10,000 or its equivalent in other currency will have to submit a written or electronic declaration form.

It defines the criminal offense of bulk foreign currency smuggling in two ways.

One is when a person not registered with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as an entity engaging in periodic transfer of bulk currency transports or transfers $200,000 in and out of the country while the other is when a person evades currency declaration.

The chamber also gave its nod to three other bills, such as HB 8641which shall strengthen the government’s national health program for senior citizens through a comprehensive nutrition and wellness program.

The others are HB 8392 which proposes to standardize and expand the benefits of judiciary officials; HB 8529 which creates more mandatory position for human resource management positions in all local government units nationwide and HB 8349 which seeks to allow the representation of non-academic, non-teaching personnel in the board of state universities and colleges.