City halts ‘illegal’ construction

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Office of the Building Official has issued a cease and desist order yesterday on the construction of a Mitsubishi Autoworld building at the South Road Properties Mambaling Access Road following the death of worker who got pinned under a concrete wall that collapsed Wednesday night.

OBO Chief Jose Marie Poblete, though, said the order is for the construction of the building and not on remedial repairs on the wall.

“They have to make remedial repairs diha.  Kinahanglang i-comply ang safety requirements,” he said.

He revealed that the Mitsubishi Autoworld has not yet complied with the requirements for a building permit and is therefore constructing its building “illegally.”

“Based on record, nagdagan pa diay ni ilang plano (their papers are still being processed). So, they still have no building permit. They have applied pero naa lang deficiency maong wala pa nato na-issue,” Poblete said.

He said Mitsubishi was told to stop its construction early this year due to its failure to comply with all requirements.

“Pero nag-construct gihapon siya so we issued them a notice of illegal construction,” he said, adding that the company has been fined P5, 000 for the violation.

On the wall collapse hat killed a construction worker, he said the structural engineer who inspected the area reported that it happened due to excavation works along the wall’s rear boundary that was made without any slope protection.

“Nakita gyud sa atong structural engineers nga humok gyud ang yuta didto (Our engineers saw that the soil was loose), so it needs shoring up para i-strengthen siya,” he said.

 “If I may recall, kaning lugara reclaimed man diay ni so dako gyud ning trabahoonon gyud. Loose and tubigon ang yuta, kay tubig baya ni before. Pero that is an engineering problem, and naa gyud na siya’y solution,” he added.

Poblete also said the company could not proceed with the remedial repairs his office ordered if it would not first apply soil stabilization measures.

The Office of the City Engineer has recommended that the company and the contractor provide slope or embankment protective measures in the area where an existing high fence is.

The city engineer also recommended that Mitsubishi improve safety measures “by providing proper access ladders, safety signages, barricades, sufficient fixed lighting, safety gears and other pertinent safety requirements.

“(A) full-time safety officer who will oversee the implementation of safety measure is a requirement,” the recommendations further read.

The city engineer said work could only resume once the recommendations are complied with.

Meanwhile, City Councilor David Tumulak, who heads the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said about 20 members of his rescue group were the ones who responded to the incident.

He said it took them almost three hours to find the body of Ronel Suson because of the rain.

“Namatay to siya kay ang iyang nawong naumod man sa lapok.  Wala siya   kaginhawa (Ronel died because his face got shoved into the mud. He suffocated),” Tumulak said, adding that rescuers were not able to utilize any equipment since they could not determine where the body was located.

“Gimano-mano og kuha kay dili man pwede mogamit og piko ug pala or jackhammer kay delikado man,” he said.

The city government is now preparing for the giving of financial assistance to Suson’s family.

Mayor Michael Rama said that the incident happened within Cebu City so City Hall is extending assistance.

He also said he told the City Attorney’s Office to look into the matter because he was never comfortable seeing the “property that once have water but is now and now become land.”

Meanwhile, Senior Inspector Gerald Suquib, Mambaling police chief, said they are investigating deeper into what happened to determine who should be held liable for Ronel’s death.

Initial investigation revealed that Ronel, 24, of Bonifacio, Ozamis City, was with his brother Romeo and 13 others digging 10 feet deep for the foundation of the building when the wall suddenly gave up.

All the workers ran away from the fence except for Ronel, who ran towards the wall. 

The collapse also injured Elmeo Espinosa, 23, and Stellbert Laurin Fernandez, 22, both of Carcar City. The two were brought to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center for treatment.  (FREEMAN)