NCCA confirms DMCI Homes reopened case against Torre de Manila CDO

DMCI Homes has filed for a motion for reconsideration against the cease and desist order (CDO) issued by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) against the construction of the  Torre de Manila, the high-rise condominium currently seen rising behind the Rizal Monument.

NCCA's legal counsel on the Torre de Manila case Trixie Cruz-Angeles confirmed that she is working to have the case dismissed again.

"It's ridiculous... It's obviously intended to intimidate NCCA and to stop it from doing its jurisdiction," she told GMA News Online in a phone interview.

The petition was first filed at the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) on February 2 in response to the CDO issued and served by the NCCA on the Torre de Manila at the construction site on January 5 and at the DMCI head office in Makati City on January 13.

The Makati RTC denied DMCI Homes' bid on February 10, with Makati RTC Branch 146 Judge Encarnacion Moya upholding the NCCA's quasi-judicial nature.

Republic Act 7356 (the law that created the NCCA) and Republic Act 10066 (The National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009) mandate the agency to uphold, preserve, and conserve national cultural heritage and properties and empower it to promulgate policies and hear cases, issue orders and compel action on the issues of cultural importance.

Angeles said that the case was reinstated around May to June, before the Supreme Court issued temporary restraining order on the construction of the controversial condominium on June 16.

"We [now] view it in the light of the decision of the Supreme Court," she added. — BM, GMA News