For ‘illegal’ fencing: City Hall stops CPA

CEBU, Philippines —  The Cebu City government, through the Office of the Building Official (OBO), has issued a notice of Illegal Construction and Work Stoppage Order to Cebu Port Authority (CPA) for allegedly installing a fence near the Compaña Martitima building without the necessary permit.

OBO Head Architect Florante Catalan said they had issued the notice after they learned that the CPA had constructed a fence with obtaining a permit from them.

OBO served the notice yesterday.

“If mag-construct ka nga wala kay fencing permit, naa kay violation sa National Building Code. Dapat magkuha jud ka og permit prior construction,” said Catalan.

He added that during their inspection, the fence constructed around the area was made of a pipe and roof appearing to be a temporary fence only.

"I don't know ngano wala pud sila nikuha og permit at that time. Napakadali raman gyud unta ang processing sa permit so with that one naa silay penalty," said Catalan.

Catalan said CPA will be slapped with a P5,000 violation fee, while the fence will also be ordered for demolition.

He added the CPA also didn't mention to them the reason why they had put up a fence around the area.

He, however, said that regardless of the reason, the CPA should obtain a permit from them prior to the fence construction.

As of this writing, Catalan said the fence, which is 2.4 meter high, in question has already been demolished.

"Wala na. Naistoryahan raman nato to demolish," Catalan said.

Should the CPA seek the rightful permit to reconstruct a fence around the same area, Catalan said they will be making an evaluation first. He added, this is according to their process in which not all applications are approved.

“I-evaluate na nato sa atong mga engineers if angayan ba siya i-construct diha or dili. Una, ownership, kamo ba ang tag-iya dira sa area. Bisan kamo pa nga tag-iya, di ka pwede basta-basta makatukod without securing a permit. Kuha sa og permit,” said Catalan.

The Cebu City Government and the CPA had been entangled earlier in a legal battle after both claimed ownership of the Compaña Maritima building.

The court has ruled that the CPA owns the building. – GAN (FREEMAN)