SC questions how DMCI got permits for Torre de Manila

By TRISHA MACAS, GMA News

Published August 18, 2015 6:14pm

The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday questioned the zoning and building permits issued by the City of Manila to DMCI Homes for the construction of the Torre de Manila in 2012.

The residential tower supposedly marred the visual corridors of the Rizal Monument west of the building.

In his opening statement, Jose Alberto Flaminiano, legal counsel of Manila, noted a number of lapses when the building and zoning permits were issued by former city officials to DMCI Homes.

“It is apparent that project did not meet the required floor-to-area ratio [FAR] and the percentage of land occupancy [PLO],” he said.

The controversial 49-storey residential building has a floor area of 97,549 sqm over a land area of 7,475 sqm, breaching what was specified in the Manila Ordinance 8119 or the “Manila Comprehensive Land Use Plan and Zoning Ordinance of 2006.”

Flaminiano pointed out that DMCI Homes should have applied for an exemption before the Manila Zoning Board and Adjustment and Appeals (MZBAA) to allow them to construct Torre de Manila.

“DCMI was informed by the Manila City Planning and Development Office [CPDO] through a letter dated October 10, 2012 that while the Torre de Manila project exceeded the prescribed FAR, the Manila CPDO nonetheless granted DMCI a zoning permit because, and I quote, ‘The provisions on height limitation and/or FAR provisions were suspended by the executive branch,’” he said.

The zoning permit was signed by then City Planning and Development Officer Resty Rebong on June 19, 2012, while the building permit was issued by building official Melvin Balagot on July 5, 2012.

Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza also grilled Flaminiano and current City Planning and Development Officer Dennis Lacuna over the DMCI permits as well as the contents of Ordinance 8119.

“Your proposition is that if a building official issued a building permit and a zoning official issued a permit, then we all have to agree that it is in accordance with Ordinance 8119,” he told Flaminiano.

Flaminiano and Lacuna both explained the different zoning classifications and how they are regulated in the city. They also laid out the processes developers should undergo to secure permits and how they should be exempted from the zoning classifications that determine FAR and PLO.

Given that Torre de Manila exceeded the FAR and PLO with its floor and land areas, it became apparent that an exemption may have been called for in accord with Ordinance 8119's Sections 60-62.

During the interpellation, Flaminiano reiterated to Jardeleza that when Rebong and Balagot granted the permits, there were no applications for variance or exemption from the Ordinance 8119.

"So the officials knew or ought to have known the ordinance, and application for variance requires a process and based on the record, there was no application for variance at that time?" Jardeleza said.

If they did that now, what will their acts be?" the associate justice asked.

Flaminiano said the officials "will be acting beyond the scope of their authority."

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno suspended the discussion at 5:00 p.m.

The oral arguments on the Torre de Manila case will resume at 3 p.m. on August 25. – VS/ELR, GMA News

Tags: torredemanila, torredemanilasupremecourt