Gov: Ban on sky-rises needs thorough study

THE proposal to ban the construction of sky-rise buildings in Cebu City needs to be studied thoroughly before implementing it.

Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III said this amid Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s suggestion on Monday to limit the height of buildings in the city following the fire in Metro Gaisano Ayala that lasted for nearly 67 hours.

“The mayor was still suggesting it. I think that he (Osmeña) is still studying it. I’m sure he will (study it) before it will be implemented,” Davide said.

“Tun-an pa na kay daghan skyrise dinhi … nagplano ra ba sad ang Kapitolyo mutukod og 20-storey building (It needs to be studied because there are a lot of skyrise buildings here. Aside from that, the Capitol is also planning to construct a 20-storey building),” he said.

The governor was referring to the Cebu provincial government’s plans to construct a 20-storey, multi-purpose building, which will rise from the site of the defunct Ba-ex building inside the Capitol Compound.

The planned multi-purpose building will provide among others more parking spaces and laboratories for the provincial agriculture and veterinary offices.

On the other hand, Osmeña also said his concern that firefighters and rescuers might not be equipped to respond to fire alarms on structures with more than four floors led him to come up with such a proposal.

But for Davide, he said he believed firefighters from the Bureau of Fire Protection in Central Visayas (BFP-7) have the capability to respond to fire alarms even in tall buildings.

He, however, encouraged them to acquire more firefighting equipment to help in their operations.

“I would urge our BFP to modernize their equipment, and acquire those especially designed to fight fires in high-rise buildings,” he stated.

He also reminded developers to always comply fire-safety measures so that their plans to establish high-rise buildings would not be barred by the local government units in Cebu.

“As long as they can meet safety standards set by the BFP, and comply requirements from the building official, I think (having) sky-rise buildings is okay,” said Davide.

On Monday, he also ordered the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) and the Provincial Engineering Office (PEO) to review fire-safety measures in province-owned properties.

The fire-safety check-up will also include municipal buildings and schools in the province.