City Hall offices engage Sto. Tomas and Dontogan business/establishment owners as to building/business permit concerns
Sto. Tomas, Dontogan business/building owners and barangay officials had a dialogue last Wednesday (Aug. 23) with the Permits and Licensing Division – City Mayors Office (PLD-CMO) and representatives from other offices and agreed on several matters as to concerns in the area.
Applicants for building or business permits in the area were requested by PLD head Allan Abayao to compile and submit pertinent documents for a re-assessment; and file a group petition for a barangay resolution to be forwarded to the city council.
The barangay resolution should contain the following request; pending applications for business or building permits may be granted special/temporary permits as long as they comply with zoning exemptions from the City Planning Development and Sustainability Office (CPDSO), environmental concerns and continue processing other pertinent documents.
Abayao then reiterated that businesses must have permits before being allowed to operate.
Chair of the committee on Market, Trade and Commerce, Councilor Isabelo Cosalan, Jr. who was present during the dialogue disclosed that a council resolution has been filed concerning building permits from the CBAO with reference to the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) rulings on the matter. Building permit issues in the area are a long-standing matter, Cosalan admitted, with hopes for relief through legislative remedies. The resolution, however, has been referred to the appropriate committee for thorough study.
Personnel from the City Engineering Office (CEO), Building and Architectures (CBAO), Assessors (CASSO), Legal Office (CLO), Environment and Parks Management (CEPMO) also presented their findings after the simultaneous inspection and clean-up Tuesday (Aug. 22), as directed by Mayor Benjamin Magalong.
The environmental concerns include scattered garbage, uncontained waste, and as reported by CEPMO Environmental Management Division personnel Bernadette Pagteilan, leaking and overflowing septic tanks, illegal discharges, untreated and even dog wastes going directly to waterways. The observed practices are “very alarming,” and are not compliant with the presently enforced Environmental Code, Pagteilan said.
As to legal matters, City Legal Officer Charles Dumasi informed the attendees of the road widening wherein 30 meters should be measured from the road centerline. There may be overlaps with properties at the edges of the road, and so with the Department of Agriculture dairy farm and other areas, Dumasi said.
Certificates of Ancestral Land Title (CALT) and their derivatives, transfers, claims and overlaps may be checked with the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP), while road-right-of-way clearances are from the Department of Public Works and HighWays (DPWH). Court decisions, or pending court cases, and other documents may also be looked over by the city legal office, Dumasi added.
Structural owners were advised by Engr. Maxwel Matiwtiw of the CBAO applied for building permits, as the earlier inspection yielded 41 undocumented structures. The absence of a building permit is a violation of the national building code, Matiwtiw added.
PLD head Allan Abayao requested the dialogue attendees to be responsible homeowners and be concerned of their livelihood and the environment. “Please police your own ranks, be mindful of your surroundings as to safety, cleanliness and orderliness,” Abayao said.
Discussions are expected to go on, as both groups go through the details of the needed processes for the legitimacy of documents for the business and buildings in the area. – JGF
