Council tasks OBO to check mall railings

CEBU, Philippines - Following the accident at a Cebu City mall involving a six-year-old boy, the City Council passed a resolution urging the Office of the Building Official to inspect the glass railings in all malls within the city.

Councilor Alvin Dizon, who sponsored the resolution, said that “beyond the issue of parental responsibility or guidance, it is the responsibility of mall owners to ensure the safety of their railings and their establishment in general.”

The council approved the resolution in its regular session last Wednesday.

The city government, applying its regulatory power over business, can conduct an inspection to the establishment in order to assure the safety of mall goers especially children, said Dizon.

The resolution also orders OBO to submit to the council the result of the inspection and to recommend safety standards to guide the design of malls.

The FREEMAN tried to interview OBO officials yesterday, but they refused to give any comment, saying that they have yet to receive the copy of the resolution.

Last April 29, six-year-old Rhian Samuel Horca, slammed into the glass railing inside SM City Cebu and fell to the lower ground level. He was rushed to Cebu Doctors’ Hospital and survived with a fractured cheek.

Based on reports, the boy was running at the upper ground level and slammed into the glass barrier. His mother allegedly tried to catch him but failed to do so.

The management assisted in the hospitalization of the boy who had undergone surgery.

According to Dizon, the incident is a lesson to everyone including establishment owners and parents. —/NSA (FREEMAN)