EDITORIAL - Pray no tragedy happens

When the Department of Education reported that 11 of Cebu City’s public schools have only one stairway and one emergency exit, in violation of the National Building and Fire Safety Code, Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young reacted in a manner it is hoped he will not regret later.

As chairman of the education committee in the city council, it is understandable for Young to feel bad about being placed on the spot by an official derogatory report. But more astute politicians would have known better than to react in the manner that he did.

Reacting to the report, Young said the city does not sit in an earthquake zone and that the buildings are stable, being made of concrete, and can therefore withstand even fires. It is not practical nor a priority of the city to comply with the safety code, Young in effect said.

It may be true the city is not in an earthquake zone, but that is no guarantee against earthquakes. And Young is wrong to think safety is measured only on the basis of the structural integrity of buildings.

How can such an intelligent person as Young miss the safety of people for the safety of buildings? The National Building and Fire Safety Code is not about the safety of buildings. It is about the safety of people.

Nobody gives a damn about buildings, whether they sit in the middle of an earthquake zone and are made of clay, for as long as there are no people in them. All concerns about safety have at their very root the concern about human safety.

And that is precisely why a certain number of stairways and emergency exits are specified for certain types of buildings, such as those of schools, because they have schoolchildren in them. It is their safety that is of concern, not the darn building.

How could Young say additional stairways and emergency exits are impractical and not a priority? Having said that, Young should now start praying nothing happens that will make him eat his words and be haunted forever by what he said.