House prioritizing proposals to amend Nat’l Building Code

MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives committee on housing and urban development is prioritizing proposals to amend the National Building Code (NBC) to strengthen construction standards in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda.

Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Benitez, chairman of the panel, said there is an urgent need to alter building specifications so that new structures can withstand weather disturbances such as Yolanda, which left an estimated damage of over P35 billion and a death toll of 5,759 as of latest count.

Benitez said the committee has invited structural experts from both the private and government sector to submit proposals aimed at improving the NBC.

He said powerful earthquakes and typhoons frequently hit the country, raising questions on whether the NBC is up-to-date. 

“We have to revisit the building code. Yolanda is really a game changer, it is something that requires us to study what else should be done to keep everybody safe,” Benitez said.

The lawmaker said the structural integrity provisions of the NBC are calculated at guaranteeing that buildings, houses and similar edifices could withstand typhoons packing wind of 200 to 250 kilometers per hour.

He said weather experts have estimated Yolanda to have packed winds of 260 kph up to 360 kph.

Meanwhile, the so-called House independent bloc is pushing for the creation of a Department of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (DDPEM) to  exclusively handle all calamity-related operations.

“The current set-up has proven to be inadequate in preparing our country from major calamities, which we will have to face on a yearly basis. This new department will drastically reduce, if not totally eliminate, the bureaucratic red tape which has caused many delays in the delivery of immediate assistance needed by the victims,” Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, leader of the bloc, said.

“Notwithstanding all the disaster preparation and coordination plans, there were still significant losses of life, injury, and damage to property when Yolanda, considered as the world’s strongest typhoon ever recorded, hit Philippine territory,” he said.

Under the bill, the DDPEM will institutionalize the policies, structures, coordination mechanisms and programs with continuing budget appropriation on disaster preparedness and emergency management from national down to local levels toward building a disaster-resilient nation and communities.

The department will be an independent agency of the national government. It will have its main office in Metro Manila with regional offices nationwide for the proper conduct of its operations.

As the government and the private sector have joined hands in undertaking rehabilitation of calamity-hit areas in the Visayas, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez is pushing for the use of Philippine-made materials in the reconstruction effort.

Rodriguez, president of the Centrist Democratic Party of the Philippines, said the benefits of the multibillion-peso reconstruction effort would be increased if more local materials are used.

He said Congress is moving to include a P20 billion rehabilitation fund in the proposed 2014 national budget. Congress earlier approved a P14.6 billion supplemental calamity budget.

Rodriguez said the approval of the rehabilitation funds is on top of moves to extend the life of the calamity fund and other savings in 2013 by another year.