Petition updateDismantle Torre De Manila Jail Manila Building Officials and DMCI Consunji photobombing desecrated JoseRizal MonumentPark view and violated 2009 NHCA (RA 10066) Manila Ordinance 8119 Resolution 121, 7-storey building height limit in historical sitesNovember 27, 2013 Manila council suspends permit for DMCI's Torre de Manila
Jam FlorDapitan, Philippines
Jul 22, 2015 — By: Ernie Reyes, InterAksyon.com November 27, 2013 InterAksyon.com The online news portal of TV5 MANILA, Philippines – The construction of the controversial Torre De Manila condominium along Taft Avenue, opposed by thousands of people who claimed it violated zoning rules and would ruin people's view of the Rizal Monument at the Luneta, has been put on hold after the Manila City council unanimously approved a resolution temporarily suspending the building permit granted developers D.M. Consunji Inc. (DMCI). Councilor Don Juan Bagatsing, chairman of the council’s committee on tourism, said the resolution was passed in light of the recent public outcry and in order to give due course to a petition of nearly 8,000 signatories. Bagatsing said "Manila did the right thing in taking a stand to preserve the Rizal Shrine's sacred sightline, showing clearly the City policy now of valuing the importance of our cultural legacies." He called for "an honest-to-goodness dialogue to iron out issues and achieve a mutually acceptable solution, for when we sit down we find common ground or, in this case, a delicate balance between heritage and modernization," he said. The city council had deplored what it described as the arrogance of the developers to continue building the tower, even when an investigation into alleged zoning and height restrictions had commenced, and in the wake of an outcry by heritage activists concerned that the building, once completed, would overshadow the sightline of the Luneta monument of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal. Torre de Manila is a 46-story residential building currently being developed by construction giant DMCI, between Rizal Park and Adamson University. It is only allowed a maximum gross-floor-area-to-area-of-the-plot ratio of 4. But based on construction plans, its floor area ratio will be 7.79, thus violating zoning laws under Ordinance No. 8119, opposers had said. Carlos Celdran, the city's tourism consultant, spearheaded an online petition against the construction of the condominium, which was to rise in the background of the Rizal Monument. Public outcry against Torre de Manila was first heard in June 2012 when Celdran found out about the construction and raised a ruckus online. DMCI countered at the time that it had all the required building permits from City Hall. The Manila City Council in 2012 also approved a resolution asking the building officials to "temporarily suspend the building permit of the Torre de Manila project until an acceptable development design is approved under proper compliance with the standards and policy guidelines set by the National Historical Commission." The City Council asked Torre de Manila developers, in its latest resolution, to respect its binding authority and, "this time, come to the table for it's the only way to move forward. Let's be vigilant to make it happen." The resolution, also authored by Bagatsing, affirmed “the policy of the state to preserve and protect the important cultural properties and National Cultural Treasures of the nation and to safeguard their hereby intrinsic value,” a policy upheld in the Cultural Properties Preservation and Protection Act or PD 374, amending certain sections of RA 4846. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) guidelines, empowered by the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, mandates the protection of the visual dominance of national monuments, like the Rizal Shrine, as “monuments should be given due prominence since they symbolize national significance… the Rizal National Monument in Luneta and the Bonifacio National Monument are established as objects of reference, and must preferably be the focal point of a city or town.” The DMCI was granted a building permit by the City Building Official of the previous city administration on July 5, 2012, amid an ongoing investigation of the Manila City Council, and serious protests from various concerned heritage groups and conservation agencies. “With the local oversight ad hoc committee finding zonal law violations under Ordinance 8119, pertaining to floor area ratio and height restrictions within a University/Institution Cluster Zone, and, in spite of enacted measures of the City Council, such as Resolution 121, to curtail its construction, it is evident that DMCI had brazenly continued to build their proposed 41-storey Torre De Manila Condominium and even had the audacity to pre-sell some units,” the resolution said. “DMCI’s arrogant display of disrespect towards the Manila City Council, in its institutional authority and mandate to enact policy, as well as, their blatant disregard for our rich history, culture, heritage, and tourism, is, indeed, a grave insult that must be addressed,” Bagatsing said. http://www.interaksyon.com/article/75755/manila-council-suspends-permit-for-torre-de-manila-which-will-block-view-of-rizal-monument
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