by Jenny F. Manongdo November 28, 2013 Manila, Philippines – A Manila Councilor yesterday appealed to the developers of the one-tower condominium on Taft Avenue, Manila, to respect the city council resolution empowering the city building official to suspend its building permit to preserve the view of the Rizal monument. Councilor Don Juan Bagatsing, author of the resolution urging the city building official, Engr. Juancho Capuchino, to suspend the building permit of DMCI’s Torre de Manila, said he will seek for a dialogue with DMCI officials to ask them to redesign the project in such a way that it would not block the view of the national hero’s monument. The city council passed the resolution on November 26 following an online petition that gathered nearly 8,000 signatures at the campaign portal www.change.org. Bagatsing clarified that the suspension is temporary until a compromise is reached between parties involved. He said it would mean redesigning the project in such a way that it would not violate any city ordinance and that it would take into consideration the country’s heritage and culture. “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-story Torre De Manila Condominium and even had to pre-sell some units,” the resolution read. Local lawmakers claimed the Torre de Manila will “dwarf” the sightline of the Rizal monument. “In preservation of its rich history, Manila did right in taking a stand to protect Rizal Shrine’s sacred sightline, showing clearly the city policy of valuing the importance of our cultural legacies. There ought to be 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,” Bagatsing said. Read more at http://www.mb.com.ph/dont-block-rizal-monuments-view/#LTbsiG8qqpW7YAjI.99