Execs to declare Magsaysay building unfit for occupancy

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – The city council is poised to declare the Magsaysay Building (from Dimalanta’s Grocery to the Baguio Tech Vocational Skill Building) located along Magsaysay Avenue here unfit for occupancy.

Councilor Antonio Tabora Jr. in a proposed ordinance sought to declare the said dilapidated building under the category of dangerous and ruinous buildings or structures pursuant to Section 214 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Presidential Decree No. 1096, otherwise known as the National Building Code.
Occupancy of the said building needed to be suspended “since it is apparently considered as a nuisance under the Civil Code and the National Building Code,” Tabora said.

He said sections 214 defines dangerous and ruinous structures as “those which are herein declared as such or are structurally unsafe or not provided with safe egress, or which constitute a fire hazard, or are otherwise dangerous to human life, or which in relation to existing use, constitute a hazard to safety or health or public welfare because of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence, or abandonment; or which otherwise contribute to the pollution of the site or the community to an intolerable degree.”

Section 215 meanwhile explains the abatement of dangerous buildings: “When any building or structure is found or declared to be dangerous or ruinous, the Building Official shall order its repair, vacation or demolition depending upon the degree of danger to life, health, or safety.”

Tabora said engineer Oscar Flores of the city buildings and architecture office and city legal officer Melchor Carlos Rabanes affirmed the status of said building.
If approved, the measure would mandate the suspension of occupancy of the building until the necessary engineering interventions are carried out or until the building official shall order its repair, vacation or demolition depending upon the degree of danger to life, health or safety. The measure is up for approval on second reading.