Kidapawan mayor gives ultimatum for demolition of quake-damaged hotel

KIDAPAWAN CITY – Kidapawan City Mayor Joseph Evangelista has given the management of the hotel that collapsed during last month’s earthquake an ultimatum to start the demolition of their structure.

Evangelista said the collapsed Eva's Hotel is posing dangers to the commuting public and to buildings near it, including a hospital and a food chain.

The mayor has created a task force to oversee the demolition, which should start “as soon as possible.”

The task force is composed of the Office of the Building Official, the City Engineering Office, personnel from the Department of Public Works and Highways, and members of the Structural Engineers Association of the Philippines.

Evangelista stressed he will leave the fate of the hotel to the task force but he wanted it done immediately.

“What we consider primarily in this plan is the general welfare and the business interests of those structures near the hotel,” he added.

Eva’s Hotel, one of the tallest buildings located at the heart of the city, collapsed when a 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit North Cotabato and other parts of Mindanao in southern Philippines on October 31.

The hotel’s worth is estimated at P750 million, according to reports.

Evangelista ordered the immediate demolition of the hotel on October 31 after the all-clear signal was given, indicating no one was left inside the building at the time of the earthquake.

The mayor said that while the hotel is still standing along the highway, it poses risks, hazards, and dangers to structures near it, including the Kidapawan Doctors Hospital, Inc., Chowking, and some residential houses.

“Hindi lang Eva’s Hotel ang dapat tingnan, including the general welfare. Pati mga dumadaan diyan and the right of business establishments and residential houses na malapit. Hangga’t nandiyan 'yan, nakasara ang mga building o mga tindahan. 'Pag nakasara, walang trabaho. At 'pag walang trabaho, walang makain ang pamilya ng mga empleyado,” the mayor explained.

He clarified, though, that the thought of using explosives in the demolition “is not feasible and is very remote.”

“No. That kind of demolition is only used in the US or in advanced countries. We can’t do that here,” he said.

The demolition, instead, would be done floor-by-floor and could continue for the next three months, he said. 

Evangelista also allayed fears of the public that there were people who died during the collapse of the building as commuters smelled something “rotten” or “decaying” inside.

He said these fears were unfounded.

“We have no reports from our local police that there are missing people or those who have worked with the hotel have perished in the fall. Though, at this time, we still can’t get inside. Maybe, after everything has been completed, we will know where that stinking smell is coming from,” he said. —KG, GMA News