BAGUIO CITY – The City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO) disclosed that the city government is undertaking a mandatory inventory of buildings in the different parts of the city to establish a database on city structures to guide for policy makers and decision makers to craft policies governing the existence of the said structures.
Arch. Johnny Degay, officer-in-charge of CBAO, reported that the demolition of illegal structures along road-right-of-way, particularly at Marcos highway, is now underway pursuant to the marching orders of city officials and through constant informal conferences and follow-up with the concerned building owners, some of who voluntarily demolished their illegal structures erected or have encroached the road-right-of-way thereby saving the city’s resources.
The ongoing demolition of illegal structures on the road-right-of-way of roads is being done in close coordination with the City Engineering Office which was earlier tasked as the lead team for the said activity.
CBAO implemented 24 of the 97 demolition orders issued against owners of illegal structures while 3 orders were deferred.
Degay revealed that to date, 55 of the city’s 128 barangays had been already inventoried on the number of structures and that the assigned task is being targeted for completion by next year for the city government to have a clear database on the actual number of structures in the different parts of the city.
Based on the said census and pursuant to the pertinent provisions of Ordinance No. 18, series of 2016, or the city’s Environment Code, CBAO also served some 49 notices of violation to building owners or tenants occupying the river or creek easements along Happy Homes, Old Lucban, and North Sanitary Camp, informing the owners or tenants to voluntarily dismantle or demolish their structures, otherwise, the local government will be the one to execute the required demolition.
According to him, the issuance of notices of violations to residents whose structures encroached on river or creek easements is pursuant to the efforts of concerned government agencies in clearing and clearing waterways from obstructions that tend to affect the free flow of water to the said bodies of water.
The demolition of illegal structures that encroached the road-right-of-way of roads and river and creek easements is one of the numerous interventions aligned with one of the present administration’s 15-point collective agenda which is revitalizing the environment.
Degay assured that the city government will remain firm in the issuance of notices of violation to owners of structures that have encroached the road-right-of-way of roads, rivers and creeks and the implementation of demolition orders for illegal structures erected on private and public properties.
CBAO is the department of the city government in charge of overseeing vertical structures in the city while the City Engineering Office is tasked to oversee the horizontal structures and projects in the different parts of the city.
By Dexter A. See
