Press Release
September 15, 2015

Trillanes seeks to expedite release of building permits, certificates of occupancy

Senator Antonio "Sonny" F. Trillanes IV files Senate Bill No. 2902, which seeks to expedite and streamline the application of building permits and certificates of occupancy, in order to address the perennial problem of tedious and burdensome process of securing building documents.

The existing National Building Code under RA 6541 provides a framework of minimum standards and requirements to all buildings and structures by guiding, regulating, and controlling their location, siting, design, quality of materials, construction, use, occupancy, and maintenance, including their environment, utilities, fixtures, equipment, and mechanical electrical, and other systems and installations. Under said code, a building permit and a certificate of occupancy are required before and after the construction of the building, respectively.

"However, the process of securing these requirements has been long been problematic and the present legislation fails to address this. This has caused undue delays and has fostered and allowed corruption to persist throughout the procedure, similar to what has happened in Makati City based on the hearings conducted by the Senate Blue Ribbon Sub-committee regarding the alleged anomalies in the city," Trillanes explained.

"In order to rectify this unfortunate situation, this measure seeks to amend RA 6541 to make the process of securing building permits and certificates of occupancy more efficient and more predictable by putting in place stricter provisions on the period for processing and approval thereof, and amending the appeals process, as well as the imposition of penalties on erring officials," Trillanes further explained.

Under SBN 2902, application for building permits, after complying with all the requirements, shall be presumed approved if the approving officer did not act on the application within the prescribed period of 15 or 30 days, depending on the occupancy group of the applicant. In the same way, certificate of occupancy shall be deemed approved if the approving officer did not act on it seven (7) days after the completion of the requirements for inspection and occupancy, and payment of fees for the same.

Furthermore, in cases of non-approval of building permit application, the applicant may appeal, within 15 days upon receipt of the advice, to the Legal Division of the Department of Public Works and Highways, instead of appealing to the office of the Mayor of the chartered city or municipality, or the Governor of the province, where the building for which the permit is being applied for is located.

"By enacting this remedial legislation, we could prevent further occurrences similar to issues surrounding the reported anomalies in the release of building permits and certificates of occupancy in Makati City, and at the same time, create a more efficient system of securing building requirements," Trillanes added.

"This is one of the measures we have crafted in response to the loopholes and issues we have observed, based on the on-going hearings on the alleged anomalies in Makati City. We have already filed some of the proposed measures based on the hearings conducted, and we will file more soon," Trillanes, author of the Senate resolution on the alleged overpricing of Makati City carpark building, pointed out.

News Latest News Feed