DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 03 Mayor Sara Duterte has issued an order to condemn the two buildings of the Palmetto Place, another project of property developer DMC Urban Property Developers Inc. (DMC-UPDI), in Barangay Maa here after they sustained major cracks on the structures following Thursday’s Magnitude 6.5 earthquake.
In a statement issued by the City Information Office on Saturday evening, Duterte said inspectors found major cracks on the walls, beams, channels, and posts of Buildings 2 and 3 of the Palmetto Place.
The mayor said residents voluntarily left after receiving notices to vacate from the Office of the Building Official.
Duterte had also ordered a probe on the actions of the City Engineer’s Office, Office of the City Building Official, and the Building Administrator’s Office of Ecoland Residences 4000 in relation to the collapse of the five-story Himeji building when the Magnitude 6.5 quake struck.
“At least one person was arrested for disobedience to a lawful order in relation to the operations at Ecoland 4000,” she said.
She added search and rescue operation concluded on Thursday evening after rescuers found no trapped occupants on the second floor of the Himeji building, where nine occupants were injured after the first two levels collapsed.A day before its collapse, the City Engineer’s Office had given DMC-UPDI notice that the building was unsafe for occupancy and was to be condemned.
At least 20 individuals were evacuated from the destroyed condominium tower, she said.
No one was reported missing due to the powerful earthquake last week, she said.
She added the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and local officials of the landslide prone barangays are conducting joint ground assessment.
The mayor said that based on initial results, the assessment team flagged Juario Village in Maa as a “danger zone,” and had advised residents of the village to evacuate immediately due to possible landslides.
She said all bridges and roads in the city were inspected and have been declared safe.
She said classes from kindergarten to post-graduate studies in public and private educational institutions will resume on Tuesday.
“School authorities are mandated to spend November 4 as a day to thoroughly inspect school buildings, review earthquake action plan and disaster manual to ensure the safety of the students and employees,” she said.
She said school authorities should conduct earthquake and fire drills at least once a month and provide students with experts who can discuss with them stress, trauma, and anxiety. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)