THREE years after an earthquake struck Cebu and Bohol, stricter rules and monitoring of building constructions are being implemented by Cebu City’s Office of the Building Official, an executive said.
Work on the first phase of Cebu City’s public hospital, one of the projects being monitored, may be completed six months from now.
Engr. Josefa Ylanan, officer-in-charge of the Office of the Building Official (OBO), said her department had recommended that construction projects, big or small, should be designed to withstand quakes like what happened last Oct. 15, 2013.
These may not be earthquake-proof, but Ylanan said new buildings are more resilient than those built before the earthquake.
“We were able to notice some changes in construction projects. For instance, owners themselves opted to use bigger steel rods to make sure that their structure is strong,” she said.
The magnitude 7.2 quake damaged P2.257 billion in public infrastructure, about P819 million worth of it in Cebu. It also killed 227 persons, 214 of them in Bohol.
Although its construction was halted for more than a month, the new Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) will rise, said Councilor Mary Ann delos Santos, the designated deputy mayor for hospital services.
Delos Santos said that City officials are making sure the building will meet quality standards. It will cost the City some P1.5 billion.
A Manila-based contractor is handling the project.
As planned, the first phase of the proposed 10-story hospital is expected to be completed in April 2017. Construction started in July last year.
Better materials
Ylanan said that the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) has also assigned engineers to CCMC to check on the project.
In 2014, then Mayor Michael Rama ordered the demolition of the old CCMC building after it was declared too dangerous to occupy after the quake.
Engineer Ylanan observed that after the earthquake, owners of buildings have been choosing better-quality materials as reflected in their detailed structural design.
Although the OBO has limited personnel, Ylanan said, engineers and technical personnel of OBO inspect different construction sites in the city, even after their building and occupancy permits have been approved.
Since 2014, OBO has not heard of any structural failures on the new constructions that secured permits from their office.
Contractors are also required to keep construction logbooks where all of the phases of the construction and materials used are recorded.
Aside from private constructions, Ylanan said they are also closely monitoring government-funded reconstruction of the buildings damaged by the 2013 earthquake.
New park
Apart from CCMC, among the structures severely affected by the earthquake was the old Pasil Fish Market.
Since a huge portion of the building collapsed, the City has decided to demolish the structure and convert it to a park. It partnered with a private engineering firm, who sponsored the construction of what is now known as the Children’s Park.
It opened to the public last February.
Ylanan said she will recommend that the Parks and Playground Commission manage the park, considering that some of its facilities were already damaged, only months after it opened to the public.
For his part, Nagiel Bañacia of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said that the City Government is more ready to respond to disasters than before.
Unlike in 2013, Bañacia said, the City is now equipped and has organized trained responders, to be sent to the field if needed.
Its command center is also operational, where decisions for handling calls for help are made.
