BACOLOD City – The owner of the business establishment in downtown area complained for violating the National Building Code and its Implementing Rules and Regulations last month has already paid the city government his penalty.
According to building inspector Julio Castro from the Office of the Building Official (OBO), Liance Tiu paid a total of P14,493 – P4,025 for surcharges, P5,000 for administrative fine and P5,468 for other fees –at the City Treasurer’s Office on April 2.
Tiu started constructing his establishment, with business name Gerci Café located along Gatuslao Street in Barangay 13, without a building permit last month.
Tiu applied for a building permit on March 23 after OBO head Isidro Sun issued a notice of violation on March 6.
The notice was initially addressed to Liza Morales but it was later found that it was Tiu who owns the establishment.
OBO personnel inspected the construction of the establishment after Executive Assistant Samuel Montoyo Sr. requested them to do so.
Montoyo’s request came after he noticed that the sidewalk near the establishment was destroyed due to the construction.
The sidewalk was also closed, Montoyo added.
“It is not proper for them [to] destroy the sidewalk because it is a government property. The closure in the area is also not proper because they have to ask a permit from the local government unit first,” he said.
Montoyo also said the case served as a “lesson” for other business owners in the city to make sure that they must secure permits first before operating or building their businesses.
Section 301 of the National Building Code states that “no person, firm or corporation, including any agency or instrumentality of the government, shall construct alter, repair, convert, use, occupy, move, demolish, and add any building or any portion thereof or cause the same to be done without first obtaining a building permit there for from the Building Official assigned in the places where the subject building its located or to be done.”/PN
