A lawmaker has batted for the enactment of a bill seeking to repeal the country’s obsolete National Building Code.
Pleyto filed House Bill 1180 providing for more stringent laws governing the building construction industry.
In a privilege speech, Rep. Salvador Pleyto of Bulacan said the destruction brought about by the magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Abra underscored the need for a new and stricter law that will replace the 45-year-old National Building Code.
“The country’s situation vis-à-vis earthquakes demands extreme urgent response on the part of Congress, in light of the ‘Big One’ that is bound to happen again at any time,” Pleyto said.
“Indeed, it’s not a question of ‘if’ but rather of ‘when’ it will really happen,” the neophyte lawmaker reminded his colleagues. “With the enactment of this bill into law, our country will be better prepared to mitigate the loss of lives and damage to property.”
He cited the need to build houses, buildings, and infrastructures that are more resilient in meeting the effects of earthquakes and other calamities.
“Stopping the natural phenomenon of earthquake is certainly not humanly possible, but being prepared is all what mere mortals can do to possibly avoid extensive damage and loss of lives,” Pleyto, a civil engineer by profession and retired Public Works official, said.
“Our buildings, houses, and infrastructures will be more resilient in meeting the effects of earthquakes and other calamities,” he stressed, seeking the House’s “special consideration” by making his pet bill a “top legislative priority.”
He said new building code for the Philippines is “urgent and a must.”
“Indeed, the enactment of a ‘New Philippine Building Act’ to replace the antiquated 45-year-old Presidential Decree 1096 is long overdue and will ensure that more precious lives and properties are saved and protected,” Pleyto said.
HB 1108 seeks to repeal Presidential Decree 1096 — a Marcos Sr.-era edict issued in 1977, or 45 years ago.
“This law (PD 1096) has to be repealed. We have been using this obsolete law,” he said in filing HB 1180, entitled a “New Philippine Building Act,” that would make edifices more durable, especially in the country which is hit by numerous disasters every year.
“We have to make our buildings withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake,” Pleyto said. Buildings, according to him, should be “resilient against earthquakes, fire, flood, landslide, storm, volcano and multiple hazards,” Pleyto stressed.
