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SC stops construction of controversial Torre de Manila
The Supreme Court on Tuesday stopped DMCI Homes from continuing with the construction of the 46-storey Torre de Manila condominium that mars the vista or visual corridors of the Rizal Monument in Luneta.
SC Public Information Office chief and spokesman Theodore Te said the high court in an en banc session granted the Order of the Knights of Rizal's request for a temporary restraining order against the construction of the condominium.
Te said the the SC, voting 8-5, "resolved to issue a temporary restraining order effective immediately and until further orders from the court enjoining respondent DMCI Project Developers Inc. from continuing with the construction and development of the Torre de Manila condominium project."
Te said the eight justices who voted to issue a TRO even without oral arguments were: Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco, Arturo Brion, Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Lucas Bersamin, Martin Villarama, Jose Mendoza, Estela Bernabe, and Francis Jardeleza.
The five who voted that a TRO should not be issued until oral arguments have been conducted were: Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, and Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, Mariano del Castillo, Jose Perez, and Bienvenido Reyes. Justice Diosdado Peralta and Marvic Leonen were on leave.
The SC also set oral arguments on the case for June 30, at 2 p.m. at the SC Session Hall.
The SC also granted a motion from the Office of the Solicitor General to be excused from filing an explanation, and instead ordered the National Commission on Culture and the Arts to instead submit an explanation within five days why it issued an order earlier stopping the construction.
(Photo from Office of Sen. Pia Cayetano)
In its 26-page petition for injunction, the Order of the Knights of Rizal, a public corporation mandated under Republic Act 646 to propagate the teachings, life and works of national hero Jose Rizal, had asked the SC to issue a TRO against the Torre de Manila condominium project.
(Photo from Office of Sen. Pia Cayetano)
In its 26-page petition for injunction, the Order of the Knights of Rizal, a public corporation mandated under Republic Act 646 to propagate the teachings, life and works of national hero Jose Rizal, had asked the SC to issue a TRO against the Torre de Manila condominium project.
Calling it a "possible historic first," the group also wants the high court to grant it a "writ of pamana" (heritage) or a "writ of kasaysayan" (history) as a legal remedy for the protection of a citizen's right to "all the country's artistic and historic wealth (which) cobstitutes treasure of the nation," under Section 14, 15, and 16, Article XIV of the 1987 Constitution.
The group noted that once completed, the controversial condominium project, rising 138 meters from the ground, would "stick out like a sore thumb, and dwarf" all surrounding buildings within a radius of two kilometers. It said the buildings around it average five storeys or about 15 meters only in height.
The group said allowing the Torre de Manila to be completed would be considered the "worst precedent imaginable... to devalue historical landmarks."
In its petition, the group claimed DMCI Homes acted in bad faith and violated Manila's zoning ordinance and other laws as well as existing guidelines on monuments. It also said the development project would cause "permanent and monumental prejudice and injustice" to present and future generations of Filipinos and other national.
Nuisance
The group said the Rizal Monument, having been declared a National Cultural Treasure, is entitled to full protection of the law. It added that having a towering building in the background of the Rizal Monument is a "nuisance" that "annoys and offends the senses" of Filipinos who honor Rizal's memory.
The group said the project violates the National Historical Commission of the Philippines' "Guidelines on Monuments Honoring National heroes, Illustrious Filipinos and Other Personages," which provides that historic monuments should assert a visual "dominance" over the surroundings.
The guidelines state that "vista points" and "visual corridors" to monuments must be kept "clear for unobstructed viewing and appreciation and photographic opportunities."
The project also allegedly violates an international commitment that the Philippines had made through the "Venice Charter." Under the agreement, the Philippines agreed not to allow any new construction, demolition or modification which would alter the relations of mass and color of a monument. —KBK/JJ/NB, GMA News
