The magnitude 6.9 earthquake that hit northeastern Cebu last September 30 should prompt Congress to immediately address proposals for a new building code, Surigao del Sur 1st District Rep. Romeo Momo Sr. said on Sunday.
Momo, in a statement, stressed that failure to pass and enact the proposed Philippine Building Act may result in catastrophic damage during disasters, which could be prevented if safety measures and standards were in place.
‘The Cebu earthquake is a wake-up call, again. It shows the cracks not only in our buildings but in our outdated building regulations. We need a building code that reflects the current and updated engineering standards, hazard maps, and climate realities-not one that was written decades ago,’ Momo said.
‘The time to pass this measure is not today, not tomorrow, not even yesterday. I have been pushing for the bill since the last two Congresses. This is long delayed, and our kababayans are paying the price for our failure to act,’ he added.
Last Tuesday night, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck waters northeast of Bogo, Cebu, damaging heritage churches and other structures and knocking out power in parts of the central Philippines.
Latest reports from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) showed that the death toll from the Cebu earthquake has risen to 71.
‘We cannot keep playing catch-up every time disaster strikes. We owe it to the people of Cebu-and every Filipino-to make sure that the buildings they live, work, and study in are safe,’ Momo noted.
This is not the first time Momo has stressed the need for a new Philippine Building Act. Last March 31, he said that the impact of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that hit Myanmar should serve as a reminder to prepare for possible scenarios-particularly the feared ‘Big One’ quake that seismologists expect to hit Metro Manila in the future.
Several experts fear that at least 52,000 may die, with at least 500,000 others injured, should the West Valley Fault – a segment of the Marikina Valley Fault System that cuts from Bulacan down to Metro Manila and then Laguna-cause a magnitude 7.2 earthquake.
A special report by PSA Philippines Consultancy Inc. in 2019 showed that the possible quake, dubbed the ‘Big One,’ indicated that at least two major earthquakes had originated from the West Valley Fault in the last 1,400 years.
Momo said the Philippine Building Act can help mitigate damage from earthquakes as strong as magnitude 7.2.
During the 19th Congress, the proposed Philippine Building Act, contained in House Bill No. 8500, was approved by the House in August 2023. If it had been approved and signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., it would have replaced the country’s more than four-decade-old National Building Code.
The country’s existing building code was created through Presidential Decree No. 1096, signed in 1977 by the Chief Executive’s father and namesake, then-President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
The bill seeks to update the country’s standards regarding the ‘planning, design, construction, occupancy, maintenance, and demolition of buildings’ and streamline the building permit process.
In addition, the consolidated version of the bill would create a new system for the classification of buildings and new requirements for zoning, fire prevention, environmental protection, and design.
The bill also includes a provision requiring a structural review of buildings every 15 years.
However, the 19th Congress ended its term without the bill being forwarded to the President’s desk.