Dad bares illegal operations of electronics firm

A Quezon City councilor has exposed in a privileged speech in last Tuesday’s session of the the city council rampant violations of the Building Code and city ordinances and regulations by an industrial factory operating inside a densely populated subdivision in Quezson City since 1996.

Councilor Dante de Guzman, a member of of Mayor Feliciano "Sonny" Belmonte’s administration party, said Delta Star Power Manufacturing Corp. has been manufacturing transformers inside Jordan Plains Subdivision in Novaliches in violation of the Building Code and city ordinances.

In exposing the operations of the factory, the 27-year-old councilor may have opened a "can of worms in the Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO). Negligence or collusion among officials in the past led to rampant violations of the Building Code, said De Guzman.

He said BPLO personnel were reluctant to provide him with information relative to the operations of Delta Star but he was able to match the documents he got from BPLO with those from the City Engineering Department and Planning and Development Office to complete his records.

He said records show: The manufacturing plant of Delta Star is located at 1613 Samuel St., of said subdivision which is classified as a medium density residential zone or R-2. It was granted provisional permit no. 96-02969 on Feb. 23, 1996 by the BPLO then under Adoracion Alzona to manufacture transformers. It was conditional to the submission of a locational clearance and a certificate of accreditation but there was no record that it was complied with.

Despite its failure to submit the requirements, Delta Star was given a renewal permit in 1997 notwithstanding a written directive from former Mayor Ismael Mathay Jr. to Col. Rafael Galvez, who took over from Alzona, "not to renew it for 1997 and ordering its closure for operating in a residential area and in view of complaints from residents." For 1997, it was given renewal permit no. 97-07482. For 1998 and 1999, the BPLO has no record whether Delta Star had renewal permits. Surprisingly, Delta Star had renewal permits for 2000 and 2001 having the same number as that of 1997 with modification of its business to "contractor of electrical services and manufacturer of electrical products" with an expanded area from 100 to 2,300 square meters.

De Guzman added that the renewal permits were given despite a Certificate of Non-Conformance issued on July 23, 1999 by Gerardo Magat, acting zone administrator, meaning the business was industrial and did not conform to the area’s R-2 zone classification.

He urged the city council to investigate the case to shed light on how Delta Star was able to flaunt the laws so that remedial measures may be enacted. "Shall we wait for other Ozone Disco or Manor Hotel tragedies to strike before we put these dangerous businesses away from residential areas and compel them to transfer to appropriate sites," the councilor said.