MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur--The local government of the city here echoed its call to internally displaced persons (IDPs) to have their building permit application be filed already at the Office of Building Official (OBO) or the City Engineering Office (CEO).
City Engineer Jamel Gandamra stressed that they are beyond willing to assist their IDPs since this process is necessary for their return to ground zero.
Additionally, those who have previously filed their applications but have not returned yet to check their status were also directed to visit the office to know their document deficiencies and comply with these.
“Kami ay nananawagan at iniencourage namin kayo na makipag-ugnayan dito sa Office of the Building Official para makapag-apply kayo ng building permit. Iyong dati na nakapag-apply na ng building permit na may mga deficiency, at least, malaman niyo kung ano ang deficiency niyo kasi hindi naman pwede kami magcomply doon. Nandito kami para mag-extend ng tulong. We are not here para lalo pahirapan kayo,” said Gandamra.
[We are calling and encouraging you to connect with the Office of the Building Official so that you can apply for your building permit. Those who have already applied for a building permit but with deficiencies, at least you will know what your deficiencies are because we cannot comply with that. We are here to extend helo. We are not here to make you suffer more.]
He further underscored that it is the city mayor himself who strongly desires that displaced residents be able to rebuild or repair their homes in the most affected area (MAA) as soon as possible, thus, the firm mandate for concerned departments to aid the applicants in accomplishing all the necessities.
As of March this year, Gandamra disclosed that his office has already accepted a total of 2,659 applications wherein 1,104 were already approved.
He likewise bared that while several residents were already into the process, others were still prompted to proceed firstly due to the issue of the proof of ownership.
The office has accordingly addressed this by engaging appropriate barangay chairpersons for their certification whether such a person is a bonafide resident of their place of jurisdiction or not.
With the call to file and follow-up applications for the building permit, the city engineer guaranteed a fast-tracked process without jeopardizing the posted requisites.
“Normally, ang application nagvavary iyan. It depends on the applicants. Kung nagcomply ka sa documents na nakalagay naman sa checklist, mabilis talaga ang processing… Bina-validate natin kasi mahirap na magkaroon tayo ng problema later [dahil] naging lenient tayo doon sa pagprocess at nagapprove tayo without digging further kung sino talaga ang may-ari [ng lupa],” said Gandamra.
Normally, the application varies. It depends on the applicants. If you comply with the documents reflected on the checklist, the processing is fast… We validate that because it is difficult that we get to have a problem later [because] we were lenient as we processed and approved without digging further as to who really is the owner [of the lot].] (CRG/PIA-Lanao del Sur)
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