Rep. Alexie Besas Tutor (Bohol, 3rd district), chair of the civil service and professional regulation committee of the House, said anticipating earthquakes such as the recent ones in the Masbate islands and in the Republic of Turkiye are addressed by House Bill 7075, or the proposed Disasters and Emergencies Management Act, with specific provisions about building standards and hazard zones.
Section 11 on LGU Building Standards, authorizes local government units’ legislative bodies
“to set reference and benchmark building standards higher than those set in the National Building Code, as amended, and factoring in the local disaster hazards specific to areas within their jurisdictions.”
The second paragraph of Section 11 tasks the Bureau of Research and Standards of the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Bureau of Philippine Standards of the Department of Trade and Industry, the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines, an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, the Bureau of Working Conditions of the Department of Labor and Employment, Local Government Academy of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the National Engineering Center at the University of the Philippines to
“render technical assistance to local governments on setting their reference and benchmark building standards and establishing systems for monitoring, evaluation, and audits.”
Section 12 of HB 7075 specifically identifies the Designing Resilient Structures Handbook of the Department of Interior and Local Government and adopts it as a set of
“national standards for the design of disaster-resilient housing for poor and low-income households and for basic local infrastructure.”
Section 12 also tasks the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to
“propagate and impart these national standards through free training programs to homebuilders, construction workers, electricians, plumbers, and masonry workers in communities and local governments, so they can build their own and their neighbors’ disaster-resilient houses and basic community facilities.”
Meanwhile, Section 20 of HB 7075 gives the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, in coordination with the Science Agencies, a mandate to
“collaborate with cities, municipalities, and provinces on identifying and declaring Permanent Danger Zones and Buffer Zones wherein human settlements and commercial structures shall not be allowed to be built and wherein local government units shall conduct forced evacuation and are authorized to demolish any such settlements and structures.”
Section 20 also authorizes the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the Supreme Court of the Philippines shall adopt and promulgate implementing rules and regulations on government-forced evacuations and demolitions in permanent danger zones and buffer zones.