RETROFIT PLAN GAINS SUPPORT

Building owners want tax breaks from city

Building owners in Colon, the oldest street in the country, are willing to retrofit their structures to ensure safety in the event of a high-intensity earthquake shaking downtown Cebu City.

But they are worried about the cost and would welcome tax breaks to ease the financial burden of retrofitting. A new building could cost anywhere from P100 million to P1 billion.

Councilor Dave Tumulak said the call for retrofitting goes out to all building owners in the urban areas of Cebu City, not only those covered by a recent computer simulation of an Intensity 7 earthquake hitting an unnamed street in downtown Cebu City.

Cebu City Mayor Michael L. Rama echoed Tumulak’s appeal, but said the decision to do so lies with the owners.

“Retrofitting of buildings depends. So if it (a building) is deserving of retrofitting, I am enjoining, before any law that will demand or before the mayor will exercise power, please do so so that walay gihinganlan ug basulay (there won’t be anyone to blame),” he told reporters during his news conference yesterday.

A computer simulation of an Intensity 7 earthquake showed that buildings erected before the 1992 enactment of the National Building Code of the Philippines were the first to collapse. Up to 15,000 people could get hurt, trapped or killed if the quake occurs on a normal working and school day.

Tumulak, as head of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said owners of all old buildings should start taking proactive measures and retrofit their structures.

“Even if they’re not covered by our REDAS simulation yet, they should be proactive. We request that all building owners will get concerned. There’s no need to wait for more simulation because it might happen,” Tumulak said.

Rama, for his part, directed City Attorney Jerome Castillo to also get involved. Castillo heads the city’s revitalization program for Colon Street.

Along Colon, a national road that stretches from the corner of Leon Kilat to Parian district, are some decades-old low- to medium-rise buildings.

Jose R. Soberano III, president of Colon Business Association, said they welcome calls for retrofitting. The group is composed of about 50 establishments.

“If the idea is to ensure safety, we are open to discussion. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We just need to look at the variables and the cost. There are cost considerations,” he told Cebu Daily News.

“It’s not easy to demolish (a building) and then rebuild,” he added.

He said at least P20,000 per square meter is needed to construct a building that complies with all the requirements stipulated in the Building Code.

A building with a gross floor area of 5,000 square meters would cost P100 million.

Soberano said “there are really buildings that are worn out” in Colon. But he could not impose on the members of his group because of financial considerations.

He said he would welcome incentives from the city government in the form of tax breaks to ease the cost impact.

He pointed out, however, that the old buildings in Colon have proven to be resilient to earthquakes. The buildings were not damaged by the 2012 Negros Oriental quake and the high-intensity Bohol earthquake in 2013, he said.

“What’s unusual about old technology is that it uses a lot of huge columns that are really very strong. Over time, they’re still there,” he said.

If the old buildings were no longer structurally sound, they would have been condemned already, he added. “I haven’t seen an assessment report condemning a building in Colon. Otherwise, the city would not have renewed the business permit. That alone is a sign that the buildings are safe,” Soberano said.

Rama said the results of the computer simulation only serve as a guide.

“If there is data, we need to be careful on data. It might not be a conclusion, it can’t be outright. If you make a statement of retrofitting, owners will do their own renovations. They know better,” he told CDN in a telephone interview.

The simulation was conducted using the Rapid Earthquake Damage Assessment System (REDAS) software developed by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

Aside from the earthquake simulation, Tumulak said REDAS can also give data on ground shaking hazard mapping and liquefaction.

He said they were still working on gathering other necessary data on the ground shaking hazard map, which determined which areas have soft soil and which are ideal for structures. Such a map can help the city in planning land use.

Liquefaction, a phenomenon in which soil strength is reduced by ground shaking and water comes out, can occur in coastal areas like Pier 1 and the South Road Properties (SRP), Tumulak said.

This won’t really cause any damage, but Tumulak said the people should be aware so that they can prepare.

By the time all data from the REDAS are collated, Tumulak said they will furnish reports to agencies like the City Planning and Development Office, Office of the Building Official, Department of Engineering and Public Works and barangay disaster risk reduction and management councils.

City Hall’s building official and city engineer Jose Marie Poblete earlier said owners of buildings erected before 1992 can’t be required to comply with the Building Code because the law is not retroactive.

Sought for comment on this, Tumulak said the least the city can do is request.

“For the safety of the people and the occupants, they (owners) should (start doing interventions,” he said.

He added that he plans to tap the Catholic church in promoting disaster preparedness within the city.

Rama, for his part, stressed the need for careful handling of the results of the simulation.

“At the end of the day, that simulation is necessary. But creating alarm would not have to be resorted to. But rather, (it should be) taken into a level where it can be communicated (to the establishments),” the mayor told reporters.

Tumulak, together with CCDRRMC planning and research head Harold Alcontin, were the only two city officials who participated in the REDAS training conducted by Phivolcs in Iriga City last February.