The Baguio City Council’s Committee on Urban Planning, Lands, and Housing will review the P10,000.00 administrative fine imposed by the City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO) for structures that have no building permits.
This move stemmed from an executive-legislative dialogue during the city council’s regular session on October 7, 2024 regarding the issuance of notices of violation by CBAO, each accompanied by a P10,000 administrative fine.
Engr. Stephen Capuyan, CBAO Asst. Head, mentioned that the imposition of a P10,000 fine is provided under the National Building Code or Republic Act No. 6541.
He explained that, in compliance with the law, untitled property owners are required to provide the same engineering documents as titled property owners to ensure equal treatment. These documents will be archived, and once the property owners obtain their titles, the archived documents will be used for building permit approval.
Capuyan stressed that the primary purposes of issuing notices of violation are data collection and safety compliance, particularly for structures of three stories and above that require soil tests and engineering plans under the National Building Code. He said notices of violation have been issued since 2004, but enforcement was intensified in 2022.
Capuyan disclosed that their office reached out to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in June 2023 to request a waiver of the P10,000 administrative fine but received a negative response in October 2023.
Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan stressed that 80% of the lots in the city are untitled, making it difficult to enforce the National Building Code properly. He said that even when a land is titled, there are issues such as unvalidated titles or lands reserved for other purposes which complicate the situation.
Olowan claimed the process of obtaining land titles in the country is bureaucratic and slow. Because of these difficulties, he suggested that the city government should consider setting aside funds to help residents title their properties, making it easier for them to legally comply with the law and avoid violations.
For Councilor Arthur Allad-iw, the National Building Code, becomes a barrier for those who have been occupying their lands for many years rather than facilitating development. He said the law creates complications for residents who have the right to own their lands, thus the need to amend it.
Elias Aoanan, Asst. Head of the City Planning Development and Sustainability Office (CPDSO), acknowledged this issue and mentioned that there was a proposal that emerged during meetings with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). He said the proposal suggests titling public lands in the name of the city. This will allow the city to lease the land to the occupants while they are processing their building permits.
Addressing the case of an Ibaloi elder facing criminal charges despite holding an ancestral land title, Baguio IMPR Maximo Edwin Jr. denounced the criminal charges against Indigenous Peoples (IPs) with legitimate ancestral land titles.
Edwin claimed that the city government does not accept ancestral land titles when applying for building permits. He proposed a temporary moratorium on permits for a few months to allow for further discussion and resolution of the issues faced by IPs.
Councilor Mylen Yaranon questioned the basis for the issuance of notices of violation for buildings constructed before the enactment of the National Building Code.
Capuyan explained that even prior to the National Building Code, city ordinances dating back to the 1940s governed building permits. He referred to Section 103 of the National Building Code which allows for the penalization of buildings without appropriate permits regardless of when they were constructed.
According to Yaranon, many pre-1977 buildings were either condemned and demolished or retrofitted after the 1990 earthquake to make them safer. She said some buildings that survived the earthquake had since proven their structural integrity.
Yaranon questioned the fairness of imposing requirements such as soil tests and engineering designs for buildings that have already stood the test of time and survived the earthquake.
She also challenged the logic behind requiring modern engineering reports for older buildings that were built decades ago, especially when the original engineers who designed them are no longer around to certify their safety. She further claimed that the CBAO’s strict adherence to the National Building Code without considering the social and historical context is unjust.
Capuyan acknowledged the concerns of residents but stated that their office is simply following the mandates as stipulated in the law.
Councilor Leandro Yangot Jr. questioned the implementation of the National Building Code, asserting that it should be prospective and not retroactive. He asserted that structures built before the enforcement of the law should not face administrative fines or demolition threats.
Aoanan said property owners without building permits can submit an affidavit of undertaking which grants them a six-month grace period to process their building permits.
Meanwhile, Councilor Betty Loudes Tabanda stressed the need for processing building permits for city government structures. She asserted that all government buildings, including the City Hall which does not have a building permit at the moment, should comply with this requirement as a means of setting an adherence to regulations.
With the matter referred to the Committee, Olowan called for dialogues among the Committee members, CBAO officials, and other concerned parties to address all issues raised comprehensively. **Jordan G. Habbiling