Makati City Mayor Abigail Binay on Tuesday warned owners and administrators of establishments in the city that they face penalties if they failed to comply with a policy mandating the employment of licensed electrical engineers and electricians in their premises.
Binay made the warning after the Office of the Building Official inspection found out that only one percent of some 2,530 establishments in the city have complied with Section 33 of Republic Act 7920, the New Electrical Engineering Law.
“For the safety and welfare of the occupants, clients and visitors of buildings in Makati, owners and administrators of buildings and establishments in the city should comply with the provisions of the law. Otherwise, you will not be able to secure a business permit from City Hall,” Binay said.
Violators of the law will be fined of not less than P10,000 nor more than P50,000, or imprisonment for a period of not less than six months nor more than five years, or both at the discretion of the court.
Binay earlier tapped OBO officer-in-charge Engineer Elmer Acuesta to issue a memorandum to all concerned reiterating the mandatory requirements for personnel complement. She cited another provision requiring the posting of framed certificates of registration of engineers and electricians in their employ.
The city chief executive said she has instructed Acuesta to coordinate with the Business Permit and Licensing Office and furnish them the list of non-compliant establishments and buildings.
Section 33 titled “Personnel Required” specifies the minimum complement of professional electrical engineer, registered electrical engineer and registered master electrician required for every electric plant, industrial craft or factory, commercial establishment, institutional building or any installation where persons and properties are exposed to electrical hazards.
For industrial plants or factories, commercial establishments, or institutional buildings having a connected kVa load of any size and employing voltages of any standard rating, there should be at least one professional electrical engineer or one registered electrical engineer.
However, for connected loads up to five hundred kilovolt-amperes (500 kVa) and employing voltages up to six hundred volts (600 V), there should be one registered master electrician.
It further provides that additional qualified personnel shall be employed in above-mentioned cases to ensure safe operation and safeguard public welfare, life and property.
When the operation requires more than one shift of personnel every 24 hours, the minimum complement of qualified personnel shall be employed in each shift.
Also, Section 36 of the said Act requires the owner, manager or the person in charge of an electric plant, industrial plant or factory, commercial establishment, institutional building, watercraft, or electric locomotive, to post or cause to be posted in a conspicuous place within such plant or establishment the certificate of registration of the engineers or electricians in its employ, put in a frame protected by transparent glass or its equivalent.
The city building official has warned concerned establishments that his office will be closely monitoring their compliance.
