Local government units were given 90 days to submit their structural assessment report to the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Public Works and Highways
DILG Sec. Eduardo Año said that LGUs are expected to submit to the DILG and DPWH their rapid structural assessment of buildings and infrastructures as part of the effort to fortify buildings and establishments in anticipation of a massive earthquake like the “big one.”
“The safety of the people is paramount. Kaya naman we directed LGUs to produce and submit to the DILG and DPWH comprehensive structural assessment of buildings and establishments in 90 days starting Feb. 26,” Año said.
“We will never know when the big one will hit us, kaya dapat natin itong pag-handaan,” he added.
LGUs are also directed to submit action plans to respond to the assessment’s findings, and emphasized that non-compliance to the 90-day deadline may not readily lead to sanctions but in the eventuality that sub-par buildings collapse and cause injuries or fatalities, administrative or criminal cases will be filed against them.
Año said that the 90-day deadline will set the timeline for the LGUs to fast-track the assessment process. He said this deadline reinforces the DILG-DTI-DPWH Joint Memorandum Circular 2019-01 which was issued last October 2019.
In said memorandum, provincial, city and municipal LGUs are directed to assess the structural integrity of all public and private buildings, facilities, and infrastructure as to their conformance with the standards of the National Building Code of the Philippines and requirements of disaster resilience founded on a science-based approach to hazard and risk assessment. – DILG release
April 25, 2024
