BACOLOD City – City councilors believe the public must be protected from the dangers posed by ongoing infrastructure projects.
The Office of the Building Official must strictly impose the National Building Code provisions on pedestrian protection, the Sangguniang Panlungsod said in a resolution.
Councilor Bartolome Orola, author of the resolution, said he learned that some ongoing construction projects in the city do not observe safety precautions, like the placement of safety nets to prevent falling debris from hitting passersby.
The government “has the duty to protect the safety and welfare of all its constituents,” Orola said in the resolution approved on Wednesday.
Pedestrian traffic must be protected by railings on the street side or around excavations, Orola said, citing Section 1106 (Pedestrian Protection) of the National Building Code.
“All protective devices shall be properly maintained in place and kept in good order for the entire length of time pedestrians may be endangered,” he said, still citing the law.
“Warning signs shall be conspicuously posted around the property,” said Orola. “[They] shall be adequately illuminated at night for the protection of unwary pedestrians.”
The law “declares that it is the policy of the state to safeguard life, health and public welfare, consistent with the principles of environmental management and control,” the councilor added./PN
