Secretary's Corner
HON.
VICTOR A. DOMINGO
PRESS STATEMENT
OF THE HON. SECRETARY VICTOR A. DOMINGO
In the light of
the recent occurrence of strong earthquakes in other countries, with
Haiti of late that was severely hit and devastated, the DPWH deems
it necessary to intensify our efforts to conduct structural audit of
infrastructure, particularly government buildings to include
schools, hospitals, government offices, and bridges, so as to take
appropriate safety measures to at least manage and mitigate the
impact of such disasters.
Previously, the
DPWH, since 2005, had organized a Task Force on Building Inspection
which conducted ocular inspections and assessed the conditions of
various public buildings in Metro Manila (schools, hospitals and
government offices) and recommended appropriate actions. The Task
Force inspected a total of 1,983 buildings in the different parts of
Metro Manila where 366 buildings were recommended for further
detailed evaluation and 60 buildings were recommended for urgent
detailed evaluation. Reports of Inspections were forwarded to the
concerned mayor and building official. The Departments of Education
and Health were likewise furnished copies. Of the 60 buildings
recommended for urgent detailed evaluation, 20 had been retrofitted,
while the remaining 20, responsibility for demolition or
retrofitting have been assumed by the concerned national agency (DepEd
or DOH).
In like manner, a
memorandum was issued to all Regional Directors, Project Directors
and District Engineers to conduct structural integrity inspection on
all national roads and bridges including viaducts, flyovers and
other similar structures to prevent damage to property or life in
the event an earthquake occurs in the country. Corollary, a Task
Force was created to oversee this. Our Bureau of Design conducted a
seminar workshop to all the Regional Offices regarding the
procedures of inspection and seismic vulnerability/structural
condition rating of bridges. The Task Force had inspected a total
of 5,030 bridges along national roads nationwide. Twelve percent
(12%) or 598 bridges were prioritized for seismic retrofitting,
while 179 bridges or 3% were prioritized for replacement. The
remaining 4,253 or 85% of inspected bridges were found structurally
safe and only require minor repairs and/or routine maintenance.
To date, 235
bridges have already been retrofitted by DPWH under ADB loans.
Additionally, 25 bridges in Metro Manila have been rehabilitated at
a cost of P246 million while 6 others were reconstructed.
Additionally, the
DPWH, in coordination with the Philippine Institute of Civil
Engineers (PICE) and the Association of Structural Engineers of the
Philippines (ASEP) had conducted trainings on DISASTER QUICK
RESPONSE PROGRAM (DQRP) for the members of the Inspectorate Team to
equip them with knowledge on earthquake disaster response before
they could conduct structural and geotechnical inspections and
eventually for those who successfully passed the training program,
to become DQRP volunteers in times of such disasters.
Furthermore, the
Earthquake Disaster Preparedness Program of the DPWH had launched
its 2-day lecture/form on Earthquake Hazards Assessment for
Buildings to all members of the Inspectorate Teams nationwide. The
lecture/forum focused on the methodology/procedures for inspection
of buildings before and after an earthquake occurs and afterwards on
the conduct of actual inspections of public buildings.
The DPWH had felt
the need to strengthen its pro-active disaster preparedness actions,
and as a consequence, I issued Special Order No. 44 s. of 2010 dated
January 18, 2010 creating the Task Force on Building Inspection.
We have expanded
the Task Force assignments to include bridge structures. The Task
Force now named as Task Force on Building and Bridge Inspection
chaired by Asst. Secretary Raul C. Asis has organized Inspectorate
Teams that shall conduct inspections/assessments of public buildings
and bridges nationwide and recommend action measures.
For Metro Manila,
six (6) Inspectorate Teams will be deployed. The Team Members will
come from our Bureau of Design, Bureau of Construction, Bureau of
Maintenance, Bureau of Research and Standards and the National
Capital Region of the Department. Inspections in Metro Manila have
started this week.
This will be
replicated in the other regions of the country and we expect
inspections to commence also this week.
Rest assured that
the Department will continue to use its expertise and resources in
ensuring the safety of our people and various government
infrastructure facilities.
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