After Monday's 6.9 earthquake requests for bldg checks flood OBO

CEBU, Philippines - The Office of the Building Official (OBO) of Cebu City has been flooded with requests for building inspection following the magnitude 6.9 tremor last Monday.

Building Official Josefa Ylanan said that occupants of structures and their owners can do their own inspection as the OBO will have to prioritize government structures. 

Meanwhile, two school buildings in Mandaue City have been deemed by an inspection team as unsafe while reports of minor damage in the southern towns have reached the Capitol.

The requests were made to ensure the soundness and the safety of the buildings.

Ylnan advised owners of private buildings to hire civil engineers to inspect their structures preferably from the construction company that built the edifice.

“For private buildings, I told them to please hire civil engineers. It’s logical that who constructed the building knows how strong it is. So call them again, hire them and have them check the building,” Ylanan said.

“We will then be collecting the results. I am supposed to write a letter addressed to all building owners,” she added.

Among those prioritized for inspection are the office of the Bureau of the Internal Revenue in Barrio Luz, which was reported to have sustained cracks.

OBO engineers will also inspect today the building occupied Civil Service Commission.

“Before we inspect, I told them that let’s do our share of inspection. Every building occupant must inspect their immediate surrounding. Should they find a hairline crack, then there is no cause for alarm. But if they observe it is getting bigger, then something is wrong,” Ylanan said.

The inspection for all schools in Cebu City is being conducted by the Department of Engineering and Public Works.

The OBO already declared both the executive and legislative buildings of City Hall as “sound and stable.”

Building officials also immediately inspected the Cebu City Medical Center and the City Condominium and found no problem.

The occupants of the city condominium, which is now being used as a dormitory for city scholars from the mountain barangays, were already asked to return.

The Market Operations Division was advised anew to vacate the Gotiaco Building after a portion of the wall facing the stairs collapsed due to the quake.

Market Administrator Raquel Arce said they will transfer to Unit III of Carbon Market and some will move to the Taboan Public Market.

Ylanan said that in the first place, the Gotiaco Building occupied by the MOD has been declared hazardous in the past, but some officials insisted on staying.

“We did not recommend the area for occupation. Ila rang bana-bana na lig-on ang building, but we cannot gamble anymore,” she said.

The city is renting the building for P25,000 a month. Assistant City Administrator for Economic Enterprise Atty. Dominic Diño said that the contract of lease might be terminated since it will no longer be occupied.

Big cracks on school buildings

Two school buildings in Mandaue City have been found to be unfit for use based on the result of the joint team, which inspected all the school buildings in the city.

The team recommended the immediate abandonment of a school building in Barangay Umapad and another in Barangay Opao due to major cracks.

The team headed by Councilor Demetrio Cortes Jr., chairman of the committee on education, along with Engr. Ceres Menderico of the City Engineering Office and Nicasio Cortes, coordinator for physical facilities of DepEd Mandaue started inspecting the 39 public schools in the city.

Menderico said they noticed deep cracks in the end columns of a three-classroom building in Umapad Elementary School. She added these cracks are big enough for one to put his hands into them.

Likewise, she added they also observed a major crack in the beam of a two-storey classroom-building in Opao Elementary School.

Seven other schools, which were inspected yesterday, were found to have sustained “minor hairline cracks,” Menderico said.

The other schools inspected yesterday were the elementary schools in Paknaan, Tabok I and Tabok II, Tingub, Banilad, Tawason, Casili and Kabancalan High School.

Nicasio Cortes said the schools in Umapad and Opao are located in reclaimed area and this could be one factor that cause the defects.

Councilor Cortes for his part said he will wait for the final recommendation of the engineering office before recommending an appropriation from the Special Education Fund for the repair of these structures.   

Eva Barino, principal of Umapad Elementary School, said they will comply with the recommendation and implement two-shift classes to offset the loss of the decades-old building.

Damage in southern towns

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said parts of the province also sustained minor infrastructure damage.

“Thanks for the continued protection of the Señor Sto. Niño, Cebu was largely spared,” the governor said.

She, however, said that most of the damage has already been repaired.

Portions of some provincial roads were destroyed and blocked by landslides like in Barangay Mantalongon, Dalaguete and an area in Badian town.

Bell towers of some of the churches also incurred damage. The southern part of the province is known for its heritage sites.

Garcia said she deployed the province’s engineering personnel to do the repairs. The provincial government is now also coordinating with the Archdiocese of Cebu to retrofit the heritage structures.

Back home

After fleeing the coastal areas due to fear of tsunami, residents of the shorelines have returned home early yesterday.

Police chiefs of the towns confirmed that good weather condition prompted the residents to return to their houses.

Among the affected towns were Barili, Dumanjug, Ronda, Alcantara, Moalboal, Badian and Alegria.

The police and the local government units are still continuously monitoring for the safety of the people.

Minor cracks were found on the Tangil Wharf in Dumanjug.

The Dumanjug police have also cordoned off the St. Francis de Assisi Parish Church after stones from its structure fell. They will be opening the same upon further advisory from the LGU. 

 In Barangay Poblacion, Barili the municipal hall sustained cracks, but the municipal engineer assured the public that there is nothing to worry.

In the town of Badian, their mini wharf in Barangay Zaragosa and four houses along the shore were damaged while water lines were cut off.

About 45 motorized bancas owned by the Badian Island Resort were also damaged.

A landslide also happened in Barangay Basak.

Sr. Insp. Almirante Bacayo, Badian police chief said they are coordinating with the LGU in monitoring the affected areas.

He said the mini wharf was immediately repaired as well as the water lines. – with Flor Perolina, Niña Sumacot, and Ria Mae Booc/NLQ