The City Council, during last Monday’s regular session, approved on first reading a proposed ordinance simplifying the requirements for the issuance of Certificates of Final Electrical Inspection (CFEI) or Certificates of Electrical Inspection (CEI) by the city government through the City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO) for independent electrical service connections in residential structures in the city.
The proposed measure aims to simplify the requirements and issuance process of the CFEI or CEI by the CBAO to ensure more accessible, efficient, safe, and independent residential electrical service connections.
Under the proposed ordinance, the simplified CFEI or CEI rules shall apply exclusively to residents of the city whose families are actively occupying and living in the residential dwellings that are the subject of the electrical service connection applications subject to thorough investigation by the CBAO.
However, residential dwellings shall be disqualified, upon investigation and inspection by the CBAO, if found to have active demolition orders or have previously been demolished at the same location by virtue of any court order, decision by a quasi-judicial body or directive from the city government or be located within waterways or in areas declared as high risk by the relevant and competent government agencies.
Among the simplified requirements for the issuance of the CFEI or CEI include electrical plan certified to be compliant with the Philippine Electrical Code duly signed and sealed by a professional electrical engineer or registered electrical engineer; proof of ownership of the structure or building; certificate of non-tax delinquency of the building or certificate of exemption from the payment of real property tax; barangay certification attesting that the applicant is a bonafide resident of the barangay; application by a representative shall submit original notarized letter of authorization or special power of attorney, photocopy of the notarized contract of lease or agreement if applicable and photo copy of any document showing proof relationship of the representative to the principal or property owner and clearance if falling under existing circumstances.
The ordinance shall not be construed as an endorsement of absolute property ownership. Consequently, the customer, subscriber, or account holder of the electrical service connection agrees to voluntarily remove their electrical service connection immediately upon the discovery of any fraud or non-disclosure of relevant information and of the pertinent provisions of the proposed measure.
The ordinance pointed out that the local government should invest in its people not only in the cultivation of citizen capabilities, but also in the provision of the resources and infrastructure to allow the citizens to succeed at scale.
The ordinance added that granting amnesty for electrical connections is not actually applicable as no offense has been committed, thus, to prevent pilferage, effectively monitor electrical connections, and ensure household safety in the city, it is essential to implement the proposed measure.
The council claimed that amnesty is a pardon granted for various types of offenses such as political, military, or certain criminal offenses, depending on the context and specific terms. By Dexter A. See
