Baguio building permit violators face charges

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY -- Building permit violators who will continue to defy notifications to comply with the requirement may face charges, the City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO) has warned.
    CBAO assistant department head engineer Stephen Capuyan said constructing structures without a building permit is considered a criminal act under Presidential Decree (PD 1096) or the National Building Code of the Philippines and under the statute, the building official can file charges against those who disregard the rule even after due process was employed by the office.
    Capuyan said the city government had employed a diplomatic tack to encourage building owners to legalize the status of their buildings and comply with the building code.
    A building permit promotions program was launched last April where the CBAO conducted information-education-communication (IEC) campaigns in the different barangays.
    A total of 31 barangays had so far been visited and a total of 1,744 residents with unpermitted buildings constructed on titled lots had been engaged.
    They were notified through letters informing and encouraging them to signify their intent to apply for building permit by accomplishing the form found at the link: https://tinyurl.com/4jwcz2fj.
    They were given 15 days to initiate the proceedings and if after 15 days they failed to signify their intention, they will be given a 15-day extension through a follow-up letter.
    They were also fully informed that if they still fail to secure the permit despite the extension then the city can issue a notice of violation and commence the proceedings as per the building code.
    Capuyan said that out of the 1,744, only 468 served their intention to apply for permits.
    This month, the CBAO began issuing notices of violations for building owners both with titled and untitled lands with imposition of P10,000 administrative fine also prescribed under the code.

    He said the city wrote the Dept. of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to waive the fine to encourage more residents to avail of the program but no reply has yet been received.

    To help residents facilitate their applications, the city also engaged the different associations of private engineers and concerned professionals to lower the costs of building plans and other requirements as part of their corporate social responsibility.

    This after residents complained of the high cost of the requirements to process the permit.

    Capuyan said the fees imposed by the city for the building permits are minimal however, the cost of the requirements like the plans and other documents which are obtained from private practitioners are indeed quite prohibitive.