DAVAO CITY — The city government of Davao filed criminal complaints against at least 30 firms for constructing facilities without first securing permits from the city government which violates the Davao City Zoning Ordinance and/or the National Building Code.
Zoning Administrator Roy Ryan Rigor filed the complaint before the Office of the City Prosecutor, citing violations of Section 1, Article XIV of the city’s Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance
The Office City Building Official also filed criminal cases against the same entities for violation of Section 301 of Presidential Decree No. 1096 or the National Building Code.
The city government did not mention the names of the violators but the City Prosecutor’s Office has already issued a resolution indicting some of the firms.
The filing of the cases, according to Rigor is a manifestation of the government’s sincere effort to strictly implement the city laws especially the building code and the zoning ordinance.
Most of those charged are companies which failed to secure clearance and permits prior to their construction.
Earlier on, the city government also filed a case against Gaisano Capital for failing to comply with the necessary permits when it proceeded the construction of its building in Barangay Mintal.
A violator is penalized to pay P500 per day for administrative penalties.
Assistant City Legal Officer Osmundo Villanueva said the move of the city government should serve as a warning to others who fail to secure government requirements before any construction activities.
“This is a way to correct the current practice of the contractors and building owners alike, wherein they proceed with the construction of the buildings even without securing the necessary permits,” Villanueva said.
He also said that building owners can also be criminally charged and can be fined of not less than 10 percent but not more than 50 percent of the project cost or imprisonment of not less than 6 months but not more than 1 year.
On July, Mayor Sara Duterte issued a memorandum ordered all city officials concerned to inspect and determine if all construction activities are equipped with the necessary permits.
“If a project has been started with any relevant permit lacking, the concerned agency should outrightly deny the application and endorse the matter to the City Legal Officer for appropriate legal action,” the memorandum reads.
