OBO Cebu City suspends operations of condo unit where kid fell

This will be lifted once defects and recommendations are implemented says Office of Building Official exec

The condominium where the 4-year-old child fell from the 27th floor. | CDN Photo/ Niña Oliverio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Office of the Building Official, or OBO, in Cebu City has temporarily suspended the operations of the condo unit where the four-year-old kid fell and died.

This after the OBO, headed by its head, Architect Florante Catalan, conducted an ocular inspection on Thursday morning, April 11.

READ: Boy dies after after falling from 27th floor of high-rise condo in Cebu City

Based on their inspection, they said that the units in the said condominium had two designs: one with a terrace and the other without.

They found out that the child fell from the unit located on the 27th floor that had no terrace.

“Kadto siyang nahulog, dili sa terrace. Sa may bintana,” Catalan said.

He added that the type of window which the child passed through was the “awning type.”

OBO Head Architect Florante Catalan | CDND Photo by Niña Mae Oliverio

An awning window is the window that is hinged at the top and opens outward, Catalan explained during an interview with reporters.

“But ang iyang bintana is safe ra gihapon kay naa man siya’y limiter nga nabutang. Sad to say, I don’t know unsay panghitaboa nganong nahulog ang bata didto,” he said.

READ: Girl dies after ‘jumping off’ 19th floor of condominium in Mandaue City

The tragedy reportedly happened around 6 a.m. on Monday, police from the Mabolo Police Station said.

The victim landed on the canopy of the skyrise first, which is located on the condo’s third floor. The child fell from the 27th floor.

Temporary suspension, incident report

Following the ocular inspection, which lasted around an hour and 30 minutes, Catalan said that they ordered the management to “suspend on the portion” where the tragedy happened.

“I-suspend nato ang portion nga tagaan pod nato sila’g higayon nga mo submit sa incident report og unsay nahitabo bitaw and atong tan-awon ilang design nga bag-o og unsa man gani na, ilang i-submit sa office, og anha na nato ma lift ang suspension,” he said.

Furthermore, he said that the OBO will also require management to recheck the architectural design of their windows to avoid such tragedy from happening again.

“Depende sa ilahang architect kung unsaon nila pag design unya atong i-check if okay ba or dili…Di man gyud ta kahilabot sa designers gud og unsa. Kato lang gyud is accident lang gyud nahitabo,” Catalan said.

During their ocular inspection, the exact unit was already closed. Hence, they checked on the other vacant units which had a similar design.

READ: 8 suspensions, 330 notices of violation issued by OBO this year for safety concerns

“Di sad ta kasulti kung walay integrity ang design. Depende nana sa operations sa katong nagpuyo didto giunsa nila,” he said.

Catalan assured that operations of the other units will not be affected by the temporary suspension ordered on the concerned unit.

“Pwede ra magamit, ang kato lang [nahitaboan ang dili],” he said.

Last Tuesday, Councilor Rey Gealon penned a resolution requesting the OBO to conduct an investigation on the matter.

Consequently, Gealon said that the council commends the OBO head for the swift action taken by the department.

“OBO’s detailed report and recommendation will surely aid legislation for strengthened policy and protocol for better safety in all of the condominium buildings mushrooming all over the city,” Gealon told CDN Digital. | with reports from Paul Lauro, CDND Correspondent and Josh Almonte, USPF Intern

READ: 2 construction workers fall to their deaths from Davao condo