Following Juanita BLDG incident:Guardo wants excavation projects checked

CEBU, Philippines —  Cebu City Councilor Jerry Guardo will ask the city’s Office of the Building Official (OBO) to inspect all ongoing excavation works in the city to ensure that they are compliant with applicable laws.

Guardo, chairman of the City Council’s committee on infrastructure, said several ongoing developments in the city involve excavation works that should be inspected.

“We have to make sure that the standards sa National Building Code of the Philippines ma-follow kay naay mga tag five-story excavation pod dinhi (We have to make sure that standards set by the National Building Code of the Philippines are followed because there are five-story excavations here),” he told reporters.

Guardo made the move after the incident Monday dawn when a portion of Juanita Building in Barangay Kamputhaw collapsed reportedly after the soil gave way due to an ongoing excavation for a 26-story condominium project right next to it.

Guardo said he will also ask for an executive session at the City Council so that the incident can be discussed further.

He will also ask OBO to submit to the Council a report on the incident so that legislative measures can be passed to put mitigating measures in place.

For now, OBO can inspect existing excavation sites, he said.

OBO head, Architect Florante Catalan, said he met and spoken to the owner of the 26-story project, Vista Suarez Cebu Condo/Vista Residence, and its contractors, IPM Construction and Development Corporation and the sub-contractor Corrtech Inc.

“The solution is additional anchors will be provided to stabilize the slope protection. After ana, mag-conduct ta of fallout test para makita how safe, capable ba and mu-hold ba ang gihimo nila nga additional anchors (The solution is to put additional anchors to stabilize the slope protection. After that, we will do a fallout test to see how safe they are, if the additional anchors will hold),” Catalan told reporters.

The city’s structural engineers and the contractors’ experts will test the stability of the ground.

Until this happens, buildings surrounding the 26-story condominium project will have to be closed, including Juanita building, which houses a bank and a dialysis center.

OBO also ordered to stop the construction of the 18-story building development, located beside the Juanita Building.

Catalan said he will recommend that the city hire a consultant who is capable of testing the composition of the soil and the stability of the ground. —  JMO (FREEMAN)