Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 5) — Local authorities have revoked the building permit of Gentle Hands Inc. (GHI), an orphanage in Quezon City, over unauthorized floor construction and fire safety issues.
Freddie Lilagan, head of the investigation and adjudication division of the Quezon City Building Department, told a Senate hearing on Wednesday that GHI’s permit only provided for a three-storey building with roof deck.
However, Lilagan said the orphanage added another floor in 2017.
He added that he asked GHI officials to comply with the requirements for a four-storey building — explaining that any unauthorized construction will compromise the entire structure and safety of the orphanage.
On May 26, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) revoked GHI’s fire safety certificate after observing obstructed hallways, narrow aisles and corridors, blocked fire exits, no automatic fire detection and alarm systems, no approved automatic sprinklers, insufficient emergency lighting, and no emergency evacuation plan in the building.
READ: BFP revokes fire safety certificate of QC orphanage
\”One of our requirements is FC (fire clearance) itself. If they (BFP) revoked that, by law it follows that the (building) permit is already revoked,\” Lilagan said.
‘CDO issued without due process’
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) ordered GHI’s closure last month, saying the facility puts children in the orphanage in “imminent danger.”
After 22 days, the DSWD issued a second cease-and-desist order (CDO) based on the BFP’s revocation of GHI’s fire certificate.
However, the orphanage maintained that the CDO did not follow due process.
\”There should be a complaint filed… there are formal hearings, inventories, and endorsements that need to be made prior to the pull out of any children,\” GHI legal counsel Karina Balajadia-Liggayu said.
