GOVERNMENT engineers have agreed that the best way to facilitate the release of building permits is to hand over the responsibility of ensuring structural safety to their professional counterparts.
The move assures that building officials will now be able to concentrate on checking thoroughly the completeness and integrity of the documents, plans and blue prints submitted by the building permit applicants.
Under the system, the role of the Professional Regulations Commission will be strengthened as it can now be able to crack the whip on erring and inept engineers.
Isagani Verzosa, Quezon City Office of the Building Official chief, says the proposal has gained positive response during his recent meeting with the Department of Public Works and Highways officer-in-charge Rafael “Pye” Yabut.
DPWH and OBO engineers have agreed that the present building code crafted in 1970 should be amended to make it more responsive to current times.
He says the system will allow only engineers with high standing and unquestionable integrity to practice their profession since the PRC will now be hanging by their coattails.
“The PRC will now be looking to discipline erring professionals. Some rogue engineers put their signatures on the plans and blueprints of building construction made by draftsmen without checking if they comply with the building code,” Verzosa says.
Earlier, charges of corruption were hurled against the OBO over the alleged delay in the release of building permits. Some applicants even complained that their OBO applications haven’t been acted upon for more than a year.
Admitting the extreme difficulty in securing building permits in the city, Verzosa says that mere submission of the required documents would not necessitate their immediate release stressing that the building official will still have to check their compliance to the building code.
“Safety is the main concern here. I still have to check if indeed the documents are correct and compete. After that, I will have to ensure that the structures comply with the building code. Twenty two to 25 building permit applications are received by my office. That is an average of 500 applications per month,” he explains.
OBO has also to conduct periodic inspections on the more than 30,000 buildings in the city. Since the building owners hire their own engineers during the construction phase, Verzosa is amenable to the system of simplifying the acquisition of building permits by handing over the task of safety to the private engineering professionals.
The scheme of transferring the building safety responsibilities to the private professionals will also help eradicate fixers and corrupt OBO personnel that have been sought by building owners wishing that their building permit application will be approved in a jest.
He notes that speeding up the release of the building permits under the current set-up without thoroughly checking the completeness of the documents and ensuring the compliance of the structure to the building code to ensure safety is out of the question. GOOD RIDDANCE/ARLIE CALALO
