By Gladys Pino/Philippine News Agency
GENERAL TRIAS CITY, Cavite – The city government directed on Tuesday its engineering, fire and general services offices (GSO) to immediately inspect all private and public buildings, including vital infrastructure projects under its jurisdiction after the 6.1 quake that jolted Luzon last April 22.
In an interview, city Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO) head Romel Olimpo said the directive, issued through a memorandum signed by Mayor Antonio A. Ferrer, is in response to the call of Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo M. Año’s to all local government units (LGUs) to inspect all buildings in their areas of responsibility to ensure public safety.
Año, in a press briefing last week, urged all LGUs to immediately inspect all buildings following the 6.1-magniture earthquake on April 22 which jolted parts of Luzon, including Cavite’s Tagaytay City (intensity IV), and the cities of Dasmariñas, General Trias, Cavite and the town of Indang (intensity III).
“Although the city’s joint inspection team (comprised of BPLO, city fire, engineering, health, environment, planning and treasurer’s offices) conducts weekly inspection to validate the local establishments’ compliance to local and national safety regulations, another round of inspection will be conducted.
“To check whether the previous earthquake caused any structural damage that will jeopardize the safety and health of its users,” Olimpo said.
General Trias, a component city of Cavite, is home to the Gateway Business Park, and boasts of a steady increase in its registered commercial establishments and infrastructure developments.
Although the city government has no jurisdiction over factories inside the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), it will closely coordinate with PEZA’s engineering department regarding the DILG directive.
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