OBO chief told: Stop corruption

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Engineer Kenneth Carmelita Enriquez is facing a great challenge from Mayor Michael Rama to stop the graft and corruption at the Office of the Building Official (OBO) now that she has been appointed as acting head of the office.

While the mayor is still looking for the right person to be appointed as OBO head, Rama temporarily chose Enriquez to manage the office because Engineer Josefa Ylanan declined to handle the office that she manned for the past several years.

The FREEMAN tried to get Ylanan’s reaction on the mayor’s statement that graft and corruption might be one of the reasons for the delay in the processing of permits at the OBO but Ylanan refused to comment.

Rama said he instructed Enriquez to completely remove graft and corruption among some of the OBO employees although he did not elaborate details about it.

“Dugay na kana kaayo uy, dili na kana malalis pa, panahon pa kanang Mampor, (It has been there for a long time, it cannot be argued.)” the mayor said in jest.

The FREEMAN failed to contact Enriquez for comment.

Presidential Decree 1096 or the National Building Code provides that the city or municipal engineer shall act as building official but in Cebu City, it was Ylanan who handled the office for more than a decade.

Ylanan already assumed as assistant city engineer after Rama designated Enriquez to handle the OBO a few days ago.

The law provides that all applications for permit shall be approved before the lapse of the 15 days maximum period set by the National Building Code if the applicants can submit all the necessary supporting documents.

Those who wish to build structures has to secure permits first to ensure the stability of their structures but the lack of technical personnel who can review the building permit applications hampers the quick approval of the applications.

OBO only has 32 personnel and cannot cope with the work demands.

Before a building permit is approved, the applicants need to get a locational clearance from the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) first to find out whether the site is fit for the planned projects based on the zoning ordinance.

Some applicants for building permits complain that it takes the OBO personnel several weeks or even months to approve their applications. (FREEMAN)