Cebu City Council to probe partial collapse of building in Barangay Kamputhaw

A portion of Juanita Building collapsed in Barangay Kamputhaw in Cebu City on August 5,2019. CDND PHOTO / Benjie Talisic

CEBU CITY, Philippines—The Cebu City Council will be calling an executive session to probe the partial collapse of Juanita Building located on Escario Street corner Gorordo Avenue in Barangay Kamputhaw.

The incident, which happened on August 5, 2019, was attributed to the excavation activities of a 26-storey condominium – hotel (condotel) that is currently under construction.

Councilor Jerry Guardo, the chairman of the Committee on Infrastructure, said he will be requesting a copy of the incident report by the Office of the Building Official (OBO) on the specific events that led to collapse.

“In an executive session, we want to know the measures we can adapt to avoid this (from happening) again. This concerns an excavation that is already five storeys deep. We want to know the standards of OBO and the national building code and whether the contractors followed the law,” he said.

The councilor said the city has to know if the contractors of the condotel violated any policies so they can be sanctioned with appropriate penalties especially since their construction is posing danger to the public and the neighboring structures.

The investigation will help the Cebu City Council draft regulations on these types of constructions.

Guardo, who is a member of the Mining Board, said they will hire a structural engineer to help oversee the construction site and suggest ways to prevent accidents.

“If the soil was made of limestone, it would not have caused so much damage, but the soil in the construction site was soft so the anchors probably were strong enough to hold them together,” said Guardo.

The anchor Councilor Guardo reffered to is the shoring, or the temporary wall with inclines built to protect the adjacent building, in this case, the Juanita building, from collapsing.

Guardo said the contractors will have to explain to the City Council on how they designed the anchors/shoring on the soil and why they were not able to foresee the danger.

The councilor also urged the OBO to conduct inspections in all construction sites which currently have deep excavation activities in order to make sure that all contractors have followed mitigation procedures.

OBO recently said they ordered the contractors of the condotel to put up additional anchors in order to strengthen the soil.

OBO said construction activities will be suspended until the area is safe.

Architect Florante Catalan, the OBO chief, said the construction site will undergo a “pull-out test” to determine the ground’s strength to hold a structure.

Catalan said the condotel developer promised to comply with the requirements as soon as possible. / celr