Friday, April 9, 2010 [ sunstar.com.ph ]
By Linette C. Ramos
THERE is a “big possibility” the Cebu City Government will sue CYC Construction for the collapse of its two-story building project in Barangay Tisa, Mayor Tomas Osmeña said yesterday.
Possible defects in the structural design and deviation from the building plans were mentioned in the report of the Office of the Building Official (OBO), but the mayor wants a deeper investigation on the design and how it was implemented.
The OBO chief will also look into the specifications of the materials used, if these match the size and number of materials indicated in the plans.
In a radio interview yesterday, Osmeña said the City may also blacklist CYC Construction if investigators prove the building has structural defects and its engineers deviated from the building plans.
CYC Construction is the contractor of the two-story Gaisano Capital Building along F. Llamas St. in Tisa, whose firewall collapsed last Thursday, killing five construction workers.
“There is a big possibility a charge of criminal negligence will be filed against the contractor…If the plan was not followed, then that is criminal negligence,” Osmeña said in an interview over radio dyHP.
Sun.Star Cebu tried to call lawyer Ronnie Gocuan, legal counsel of CYC Construction, but he could not be reached for comment yesterday.
City Councilor Gerardo Carillo, for his part, wants a local ordinance on the implementation of the National Building Code, with emphasis on the role of the barangays in ensuring safety in construction sites.
Carillo, also the action officer of the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council, said he asked Ylanan to review the names of engineers and architects involved in the construction of the two-story department store.
“If there is criminal, civil and administrative liability, I think they should also be held responsible. They should be supervising the implementation of the project and not just leave it to the foreman or lead man. We are still waiting for the results of the investigation, which will guide us in pursuing criminal, civil and administrative cases against those who committed infractions,” said Carillo.
The CCDCC is set to form a task force that will monitor construction projects to make sure these comply with safety standards, including the use of safety gear by the workers.
Its inspectors found out during the search and rescue operation in the construction site that workers did not have hard hats, safety lines and other safety devices when the accident happened around 1 a.m.
The building also did not have safety nets and canopies, which could have slowed down the fall of the debris.
Carillo said that while the city councilors prepare the local ordinance, the task force composed of OBO and CCDCC personnel and representatives from the Association of Barangay Councils should be created.
“Admittedly, the OBO does not have enough personnel to inspect all these construction projects so the barangay officials should be actively involved in monitoring the construction sites, focusing on the safety standards,” he added.
In a report submitted to the mayor last Thursday, Engineer Josefa Ylanan, acting chief of the OBO, said that engineers and inspectors observed the parapet or firewall of the building appeared to be higher than the height approved by her office.
This still has to be verified, she said, that is why the City’s structural engineers are reviewing the building plans and will conduct an ocular investigation when work resumes on Monday.
“Initially, the deviation that our inspectors observed is the height of the parapet; it appears to be higher than what was indicated in the building plans that we approved. We also want to find out what materials they used, and if the materials indicated in the plans were followed. We still have to complete our in-depth investigation,” Ylanan said.
Pending the results of the investigation, the disaster coordinating council asked OBO to get the names of all the engineers and architects supervising the construction project in preparation for the possible filing of cases against them.
Whether or not family members of the five construction workers who died decide to press charges, the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) will still file a case against the contractor.
CCPO Director Patrocinio Comendador said they want to use findings from the Office of the Building Official in a reckless imprudence case they will file against CYC Construction.
Police are yet to talk to the families of the victims, as they opted to finalize burial arrangements before taking care of legal matters.
As for the contractor, they asked for more time as they were also attending to the queries of the OBO.
Comendador said that without the family’s testimony, a case for reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide and physical injuries would be weak.
He explained that the case is a public crime and they will have to file it using witness accounts. He doubts, though, that they will succeed in prosecuting it.
“But since these are public crimes, we will let the prosecutor determine if the case will prosper,” Comendador said.
He said in most cases like these, victims’ families usually opt to receive the financial assistance offered to them and not pursue a case. (With MEA)
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on April 10, 2010.
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