Garin, Tulfo on same page regarding sought probe on substandard structures
At A Glance
- Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin sees eye-to-eye with her fellow House deputy speaker, ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo on seeking a probe in connection with the fallen structures from the Mindanao earthquake.
Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin (left), ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo (PPAB, Facebook)
Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin sees eye-to-eye with her fellow House deputy speaker, ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo.
The topic? Ensuring higher building standards amid the extensive damage caused by the magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Mindanao earlier this month.
Garin underscored that building owners should follow existing infrastructure standards after a number of structures in Sarangani crumbled because of the earthquake.
Tulfo, who had gone to Sarangani and General Santos City to assess the damage first hand, said in a recent privilege speech that he found the fallen structures in these areas to be "substandard".
Agreeing with the ACT-CIS party-list solon, Garin said: “Hindi po ba kapag government projects or even privately-funded projects and privately-owned infrastructure, hindi po ba supposedly dapat earthquake proof or calamity proof. Hindi ba mayroon po ‘yung standard?”
(Shouldn't government-funded projects, or even privately-funded projects and privately-owned infrastructure be early quake or calamity proof?)
The Iloilo lawmaker also noted that the buildings destroyed by the Nov. 17 earthquake have not yet reached their expected minimum lifespan of 50 years.
Following his inspection, Tulfo led the filing of House Bill (HB) No.1476, which sought a House panel inquiry on the way the affected structures were built.
He estimated the cost of damage in the "hundreds of millions of pesos in government infrastructures".
In the end, Garin thanked Tulfo for pursuing the House inquiry as well as his intention to amend the building code.