CH to renew contract of lease for Gotiaoco Building

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City government is renewing its contract of lease with the heirs of the late Manuel Gotianuy for the use of the Gotiaoco Building across the City Hall annex building.

The City Council authorized Mayor Michael Rama last Wednesday to sign the renewal of the contract where the city government agrees to pay P25,000 monthly rental for a period of five years.

The subsisting contract is supposed to end on 2014 yet but the heirs of the late Gotianuy agreed to give up the remaining years in favor of the city government.

The city is planning to use the building to house its extension offices and other offices. City administrator Jose Marie Poblete said they are still ironing out some concerns about the use of the building.

The city government intends to include a budget for the building’s improvement in the 2012 Annual Budget although there is no fix amount yet.

“We intend to include the budget for the improvement of the building in the 2012 Budget so that we can proceed as soon as the issues with the building use will be resolved,” Poblete said.

Currently, the third floor of the building is occupied by the Market Operations Division Office.

The Gotiaoco Building was built for commercial purposes in 1914. It is one of the first commercial buildings in the city named after a known Filipino-Chinese businessman of his time, Pedro Gotiaoco.

Since the building has been existing for over 50 years, concerns on whether the building is still suitable for use have been raised during the council session last Wednesday.

Department of Engineering and Public Works consultant Engr. Ariel dela Cruz said that the building was designed and built without incorporating the seismic load which makes it vulnerable to seismic activities such as earthquake.

Although he said it can be used because Cebu City is less prone to seismic activities. Minor engineering works however is needed like retrofitting to doubly ensure that the building is safe for use.

It was stipulated in the contract that the owners shall not be answerable for any incident that will be caused by the aging structure.

The owners are also not compelled to guarantee the soundness of the structure.

The city government must also maintain the building name and preserve the façade for historical purposes. — (FREEMAN)