Congress must update the National Building Code and create the Department of Disaster Resilience during the second regular session of the 18th Congress, Agusan del Sur Rep. Lawrence Fortun on Sunday said.
“I appeal to Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and the rest of the House leadership to please expedite action on the National Building Code bills.
More Filipinos will keep dying. More homes, buildings, roads, bridges, and towers will continue to be destroyed, if Congress chooses to sit on the bills to amend the National Building Code,” he said.
Typhoons “Yolanda,” “Rolly and “Ulysses,” the eruption of Taal Volcano, lahar floods of Mayon Volcano, and 2019 earthquakes in Central Mindanao and Davao regions are powerful reminders to the national government and the entire country that we must act now, he said.
“Not later, not next year, not after the 2022 elections, but now during this second regular session,” he cited.
Additional reminders are the Ozone Disco tragedy and Resorts World Casino crisis where the key issues were about building safety inspections, building security, and fire safety, he noted.
“This House has done its part as regards the bill on the Department of Disaster Resilience. We are now just waiting for the Senate to approve its version and then set in motion the reconciliation of the two bills in the bicameral conference committee,” Fortun said.
“Maraming bahay, gusali, kalsada, tulay, dike, at iba pang imprastruktura ang nawawasak ng mga kalamidad dahil ang batayang-batas, ang National Building Code ay luma na, 1977 pa,” he said.
“Oo, naaamyendahan ang mga implementing rules and regulations at ang mga component implementing codes tulad ng National Structural Code, Electrical Code, Plumbing Code, at Fire Code; ngunit, batid ng mga Miyembro ng Kongreso na hindi maaaring baguhin ng IRR ang batas o lumampas sa nakasaad sa batas ng anumang implementing rules and regulations,” he added.
The Code got stalled, he noted.
“Na-bonsai ang ating National Building Code dahil hindi binigyang pagkakataong yumabong, sa halip ay hinayaan sa isang maliit na paso lamang. Hindi binigyan ng mas malawak na lupa para dumami ang ugat. Hindi inilabas ng bahay para maarawan at maulanan,” Fortun said.
Since 2010, or for the last ten years, the bills seeking to amend the National Building Code were stuck in the Committee on Public Works and Highways. A total of 12 bills specifically on amending the NBC were filed since 2010. Not a single one was approved at committee level. There have been other bills but those are about the college curriculum related to buildings.
The National Building Code is a 1977 Presidential Decree from the Martial Law years.
“We are now in the Year 2020 and soon it will be 2021. The first 20 years of the 21st Century are about to become history, but the law governing how we build our homes, buildings, and infrastructure are based on standards, thinking, technology and perspectives circa 1970s and older,” Fortun said.
In August 2018, Congress finally passed the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Department of Labor and Employment issued its implementing regulations in December 2018.
However, the law has no provisions amending or updating the National Building Code, Fortun said.
“The National Building Code has zero specific occupational health and safety provisions,” he said.
