The city government will not implement the closure of Bayanihan building and demolition of the Magsaysay building, pending the resolutions of issues involving the structures.
For Bayanihan, City Administrator Bonifacio dela Peña said the city government will wait for the court decision regarding the dispute on ownership of the lot and the building.
In the meantime, Pines Commercial Corp., the current occupant of the building, committed to rehabilitate the building to ensure that it is not a fire hazard.
In their recent meeting, dela Peña said he asked representatives of Pines Commercial to submit its rehabilitation plan for the building.
In September last year, the City Buildings and Architecture Office issued a notice to Pines Commercial and its tenants that the building had to be closed. Its basis is the 2011 report of the Bureau of Fire Protection which stated that the building has no sufficient fire exits, water hoses, sprinkler system, and fire extinguishers. It also showed the building’s electrical wiring system could spark a fire.
In the same year, Pines Commercial instituted remedial measures.
When the CBAO issued a notice last year, dela Peña said Pines Commercial hired experts to evaluate the structure. He said their engineers certified that the building is structurally sound, but the interiors have to be rehabilitated.
“We accede to the findings of their experts but it is still not fire safe. I asked them to submit a methodology on how Pines will go about the rehabilitation,” dela Peña said.
Dela Peña said tenants of the Magsaysay building were allowed to stay until the city government demolishes it.
The tenants signed an undertaking that they will vacate when notified by the government.
The building will be demolished for an open-type parking system. – Rimaliza A. Opiña
April 17, 2024
