The Pamana ng Lahi Building is owned by a non-profit, non-political corporation with aka or dba as the JRI Foundation. I understand that the President of the Foundation is Mr. Romeo Tumalad of Orion. The general membership has never been informed of the financial and current status of the Foundation
The funding was all donated by students who have graduated and students who have studied but did not graduate from the Jose Rizal Institute and from volunteer donors, mostly citizens of Orion. Other source of funding was thru raffle games.
I don’t know where the building permit was issued, in Balanga or in Orion. The construction of the building was started more than a decade ago. The construction was abandoned and to this day the building has been weathering all
thru these years, incomplete. The efforts of the past Board of Directors have
been wasted. It has been sitting on that location for more than a decade gathering mildew. For the meantime, high school reunions were being held out of town, in Pilar, Balanga, Manila and in SBMA at Subic but not with the PamanangLahi building because it is not completed.
Based on the provisions of the Building Code of the Philippines, Section 305 of the RA 6541, as amended by the Presidential Decree No. 1096, the building permit issued in the construction of the JRI Foundation Building is 1) NULL AND VOID because the construction has been abandoned and 2) the building may not be used
or occupied because Certificate of Occupancy has not been issued. The
following is an excerpt of the provision of RA 6541.
“Section 305. Validity of Building Permits. The issuance of a building permit shall not be construed as an approval or authorization to the permittee to disregard or violate any of the provisions of this Code. A building permit issued under the provisions of this Code shall expire and become null and void if the building or work authorized therein is not commenced within a period of one year from the date of such permit, or if the building or work to authorized is suspended or abandoned at any time after it has been commenced, for a period of 120 days.”
A portion of the ground floor was previously been rented and now the entire ground floor was leased to Orion Water District, a government-owned-and-controlled corporation.
“Section 309. Certificate of Occupancy. No building or structure shall be used or occupied and no change in the existing use or occupancy classification of a building or structure or portion thereof shall be made until the Building Official had issued a Certificate of Occupancy therefore as provided by this Code.”
RECOMMENDATION. If you want to save the Pamana ng Lahi Building and put it to good use, I suggest that the Chief Executive invite the President of the JRI Foundation to clarify the status of the Foundation building and find ways to save and complete the building for use by the intended user. If a feasibility study is to be done by the Municipal Planner, he may be guided with the Municipal Ordinance No. 08-020-057 of 22 July 2008, on Orion Investment & Employment Incentive Code and Articles 66 and 67 of the Local Government Code.
By: FEL BARCARSE
