Makati City Mayor Abigail Binay on Wednesday reminded owners and administrators of buildings in the city to comply with the recent memorandum requiring them to check the structural stability of their buildings to ensure safety of occupants and lessen the possible damages in the event the “Big One” earthquake hits Metro Manila.
“For the safety and welfare of the occupants, clients and visitors of buildings in Makati, we enjoin your immediate and full compliance with the relevant directives of the DPWH [Department of Public Works and Highways],” said Binay.
She added: “Let us heed the warning signs and act swiftly to make sure our buildings and structures can withstand the ‘Big One’ if and when it actually happens.”
The mayor also commended the owners and administrators of some 28 buildings for having submitted a Certificate of Structural Stability to the Office of the Building Official or OBO, which is a mandatory requirement for medium and high-rise buildings over 15 years in existence nationwide.
Binay likewise praised some 34 high-rise buildings that have installed earthquake recording instruments, as required by the DPWH in its memorandum circular issued in 2011. She urged the owners and administrators to submit to the OBO recent readings of the instruments, called seismographs, during the series of earthquakes in Batangas last April.
In its report to the Mayor, the city OBO has issued a Certificate of Earthquake Recording Instrument to only five out of some 34 buildings installed with seismographs to date. These are Lerato Tower 1, Signa Tower 2, The Residence Makati Place Towers 1 and 2, The World Center, and Eton Parkview Greenbelt.
The OBO has reminded concerned building owners to secure the certificate by submitting the following requirements to its office at the sixth floor of Makati City Hall, main building: 1) Request Letter for Inspection; 2) Certificate of Installation from the Installer; 3) Structural Certification signed and sealed with PR ID and PTR; 4) As-Built Plan indicating the Location of the instruments; 5) Mounting Plans/Details of Instruments; 6) Preliminary Readings/Testing; 7) Specifications of the Instruments; 8) Picture of the Instruments; and 9) Other Documents as needed.
The other buildings installed with seismographs but need to secure a certificate from the OBO include Antel Spa, BDO Corporate Center—North Tower and South Tower, Citadines Salcedo Makati, Citibank Center, Citibank Tower, Eton Greenbelt Residences, Fairmont Hotel, Frabelle Business Center, Greenbelt Excelsior, Greenbelt Radisson, Makati Diamond Residences, Makati Shangri-La Hotel, Man Tower Legaspi, One Central, One Legaspi Park, One Roxas Triangle.
The list also includes Oriental Place, Park Terraces Tower 1, Phil. AXA Center, Senta Tower, Solaris One Building, The Columns Legaspi Village, The Linear Tower 1 & 2, The Palisades, The Regency at Salcedo, The Residence at Greenbelt 3, The Residence at Greenbelt 2, Zuellig Building, and 6780 JAKA.
Meanwhile, the 28 buildings that have submitted structural certifications to the OBO include La Panday Building, Metropolitan Industrial, Corona Realty and Development Corp., KPMG Center, One Pacific Place, ACI Group, St. Paul College of Makati, State Condominium V, Aurovir Building, Feliza Building, BSA Suites Condominium, Kolin Building;
A.L. Trinidad Realty Holdings, Inc., McDonald’s Building, Bankmer Building, Midland Buendia Building, Pioneer House, Planters Product Building, Villamarin Apartment, Casmer Building, LRI Design Plaza, Hotel Durban, Grand Tower Condominium, First Life Building, Twin Towers Condominium, Palisades Condominium, and Prince Plaza Condominium.
Based on OBO records, Makati has 617 medium rise buildings and 197 high rise buildings to date. Buildings are classified as follows: one to five stories high, low-rise; six to 15 stories, medium rise; and 16 stories and higher, high-rise.
The DPWH Memorandum Circular No. 03 dated March 31, 2011 cites Section 105(2) of the National Structural Code of the Philippines, which requires the installation of accelerometers or seismographs in structures measuring over 50 meters high, such as high-rise buildings.
The DPWH Memorandum Circular No. 05, Series of 2007, requires buildings in existence for more than 15 years to undergo a comprehensive evaluation for structural strength and stability conducted by a qualified structural engineer, who will then issue a Certification of Structural Stability if it passes the current structural standards in the country.