Secretary's Corner
HON.
ROGELIO L. SINGSON
37th
National Convention, United Architects of the Philippines
SMX Convention Center, Seashell
SM
Bay Central, Central Business Park, Pasay City
28
April 2011
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN AND FRIENDS. GOOD MORNING.
YOUR
CONVENTION THEME, “REINVENTING SERVICE-ORIENTED ARCHITECTURE”, I
UNDERSTAND IS TO GEAR U.A.P. TOWARDS COMING UP WITH GOOD DESIGNS OF
STRUCTURES THAT WOULD ALSO ADDRESS THE MOST PRESSING CHALLENGE OF
OUR TIME, NOT ONLY IN THE LOCAL SCENE, BUT ALSO GLOBALLY – AND THAT
IS THE CLIMATE CHANGE. AS SUCH, MY CONCERN IS THAT WE CANNOT JUST
BE SERVICE ORIENTED, BUT WE HAVE TO TAKE A LONG TERM VIEW – THE
WHOLE LIFE COST OF A PROJECT.
U.A.P
MEMBERSHIP, AS CREATORS OF EVERY COMMUNITY’S SKYLINE, CAN TRANSFORM
A LOCALITY INTO WHAT THEY THINK WOULD BE THE MOST SUITABLE DURING
THESE PRESENT TIMES AND FOR THE YEARS AHEAD.
WHEN
ONE LOOKS AROUND AT EVERY COMMUNITY, YOU CAN SEE THE HISTORY OF
ARCHITECTURE BY THE WAY THE BUILDINGS ARE DESIGNED.
AS
YEARS GO BY, YOU ARE NOW EVOLVING INTO WHAT THE ESSENCE OF YOUR
THEME DURING THIS CONVENTION WOULD TRY TO IMPART – FROM AESTHETICS
TO FUNCTIONALITY, OR INTEGRATING BOTH – AESTHETICS AND
FUNCTIONALITY, INCLUDING ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS, WHICH NECESSARILY
HAS TO LOOK AT A LONG TERM VIEW.
YOUR
WORKS ALSO REFLECT THE PROGRESS OF EVERY COMMUNITY’S SKYLINE. THE
BUILDINGS THAT YOU DESIGN ARE NOT ONLY STRUCTURALLY SAFE AND STRONG,
BUT, WORKS OF ART AS WELL.
WHEN
WE SEE THOSE TALL BUILDINGS, WE ARE AMAZED ON HOW AESTHETICS AND
FUNCTIONALITY BLEND TOGETHER TO COME UP WITH THESE MASTERPIECES.
THUS,
AS DESIGNERS OR CREATORS OF THESE STRUCTURES WHERE MANKIND WOULD
DWELL, YOU CAN RE-SHAPE AND RE-ENGINEER THE ENVIRONMENT WHERE PEOPLE
SPEND THEIR DAILY LIVES. IN OTHER WORDS, AS ARCHITECTS, YOU SHOULD
NOT ONLY BE DESIGNING BUILDINGS BUT LOOKING AT TOTAL ENVIRONMENT AND
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.
YOU
HAVE THE POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY TO SHAPE THE CONDITIONS OF THE
ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE LIVE AND EVEN BEHAVE – OVER A LIFETIME.
THEREFORE, YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS ARCHITECTS DOES NOT END WITH
COMING UP WITH THESE MAGNIFICENT AND BEAUTIFUL STRUCTURES.
YOUR
PARAMOUNT RESPONSIBILITY IS THE SAFETY AND WELL-BEING OF THOSE WHO
SHALL OCCUPY THESE BUILDINGS AND ITS ENVIRONS FOR A LIFETIME.
RECENTLY, UNFORTUNATE EVENTS HAVE JOLTED US TO BECOME MORE SOCIALLY
AWARE ON DISASTER PREPAREDNESS. HAITI, NEW ZEALAND, JAPAN, MYANMAR,
AND NOW SOME PARTS OF THE PHILIPPINES, ALTHOUGH THESE ARE MINIMAL IN
MAGNITUDE, THE EARTH IS SHAKING AND NEW HAZARDS ARE EVOLVING. SOME
DESIGNS AND STANDARDS 20 YEARS AGO ARE NOW OBSOLETE.
WE
ARE WITNESSES OF THE MASSIVE DESTRUCTION THAT THESE NATURAL
CATASTROPHES HAVE BROUGHT UPON MANKIND.
AS
DESIGNERS THEREFORE OF THESE BUILDINGS, U.A.P SHOULD PLAY AN ACTIVE
ROLE IN INTEGRATING YOUR EFFORTS TO RESPOND TO THE DISASTER RISK
REDUCTION BY DESIGNING SAFE AND RESILIENT STRUCTURES. I HAVE SAID,
THE PRICE TO PAY FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE APPROPRIATE LAWS,
MORE PARTICULARLY, THE NATIONAL BUILDING CODE IS VERY STIFF BY
PUTTING THE LIVES OF OTHER PEOPLE AT RISK. WE SHOULD ALSO BE AWARE &
BUILD AWAY FROM KNOWN HAZARD ZONES PRECISELY BECAUSE OF OUR LONG
TERM VIEW.
WE,
IN THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS, HAVE BEEN DOING OUR
PART TO AT LEAST MITIGATE THE POTENTIAL OUTCOME OF WHATEVER DISASTER
& HAZARDS THAT WE MAY EXPERIENCE IN THE FUTURE. BUT MY PHILOSOPHY IS
LOOKING AT A LONG TERM VIEW.
THIS
IS WHERE YOUR ORGANIZATION MAY BE INVOLVED.
AS
DPWH SECRETARY AND THE COUNTRY’S NATIONAL BUILDING OFFICIAL, I
ACKNOWLEDGE THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE U.A.P. IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
THE NATIONAL BUILDING CODE AND YOUR AWARENESS OF THE VARIOUS
GEOLOGICAL HAZARDS IN THE COUNTRY.
I
CONTINUE TO CHALLENGE YOUR ORGANIZATION TO ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN
THE REVIEW AND FORMULATION OF THE AMENDED IMPLEMENTING RULES AND
REGULATIONS OF THE BUILDING CODE WITH A LONGER TIME HORIZON.
AGAIN, I HAVE JUST SIGNED A SPECIAL ORDER RECONSTITUTING THE BOARD
OF CONSULTANTS OF THE NATIONAL BUILDING CODE WHERE U.A.P. IS A
MEMBER, TO REVIEW THE CODE, AND IDENTIFY THE PROVISIONS THAT NEED
UPDATING OR AMENDMENTS, AMONG OTHERS. IN FACT, ARCHITECT ARMANDO
DOMINADOR N. ALLI IS DESIGNATED VICE-CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF
CONSULTANTS.
I AM
ALSO ENJOINING YOUR ORGANIZATION TO ACTIVELY INVOLVE ALSO IN THE
ENFORCEMENT OF THE CODE, AND BE FULLY AWARE OF IDENTIFIED HAZARD
ZONES, WHILE WE ARE PREPARING FOR ITS IMPROVEMENT.
IN
THE DPWH, WE HAVE COME UP WITH A TASK FORCE ON BUILDING INSPECTION
FOR PUBLIC BUILDINGS & STRUCTURES. THIS TASK FORCE NEEDS YOUR
EXPERTISE IN ENSURING THAT THE BUILDINGS, PARTICULARLY PRIVATE
BUILDINGS, ARE SAFE TO WITHSTAND EARTHQUAKES OF ANY MAGNITUDE.
BEING
PROFESSIONAL ARCHITECTS, THE PRACTICE OF YOUR PROFESSION SHOULD
ENSURE AT ALL TIMES THE SAFETY OF OUR PEOPLE.
I,
THEREFORE, ENJOIN EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU TO BE INVOLVED WITH
ENSURING AND DESIGNING SAFE STRUCTURES & SAFE COMMUNITIES FOR A
LIFETIME.
WITH
THE TURN OVER OF THE RESPONSIBILITY THIS EVENING, LET THIS BE THE
NUMBER ONE AGENDA OF THE NEW SET OF OFFICERS WHO WERE SWORN TO DUTY
– A DUTY WHICH SYMBOLIZES DIGNITY, AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY IN
DEVELOPING SAFE STRUCTURES & PLEASANT SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES.
LET
DIGNITY, AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY GUIDE YOU IN DISPENSING YOUR
DUTIES AS OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THIS PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION.
DIGNITY TO ONE’S SELF; AUTHORITY TO GOVERN OTHERS; AND THE
RESPONSIBILITY TO THE SOCIETY.
WITH
THE ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT BENIGNO S. AQUINO III, WE WILL
FULLY SUPPORT YOU IN DISPENSING WITH YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS
PROFESSIONAL ARCHITECTS IN THE COUNTRY.
THANK
YOU VERY MUCH AND GOOD DAY.
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