Posted by Jenny F. Manongdo on Jun 19th, 2015 http://www.tempo.com.ph/2015/06/19/estrada-to-file-charges-vs-lim-over-torre-de-manila-construction/ Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said yesterday he is considering filing a case against former mayor Alfredo Lim over the construction of Torre de Manila after the latter accused the present city officials of corruption that led to the continued rise of the controversial residential building. He also retaliated against the former mayor’s words urging Estrada to take the lie detector test to see who is lying regarding the issue. “He’s a big liar. Matanda na, sinungaling pa,” Estrada said in a conference at the Manila city hall yesterday. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court released a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the construction of the controversial Torre de Manila in Taft Avenue dubbed as “national photobomber” by netizens angered by its imposing height that affects the view of the Rizal monument especially in photographs. In a conference on Wednesday, the Manila City Council put the blame on the past administration that approved the zoning and business permits of Torre de Manila to developer DMCI Inc. despite violations on procedures as set by ordinance 8119. Yesterday, Lim said in a radio interview that the present administration received money from DMCI for the continued construction of the 49-floor high-rise building. Estrada denied Lim’s accusations and emphasized that the zoning and business permits of Torre de Manila were released during the time of the former mayor. On Monday, Councilor Joel Chua, chairperson of the Manila city council oversight committee, explained that because Torre De Manila is being built inside a university cluster, the law provides that it could only rise up to seven floors, according to city ordinance 8119. However, the same ordinance provides for exceptions or variances to projects that do not conform with the conditions set by the ordinance. Chua said the developer should have applied for exceptions before attaining the necessary permits so it could proceed with the construction of the building. He said DMCI Inc. “was made to believe” by the executive department in the previous administration that they do not need the approval of the zoning board and the city council in attaining zoning and building permits. The zoning and building permits were issued by the city planning and development office and the office of the building official, respectively. In a separate statement, Lim’s chief of staff, Ric de Guzman, said they gave the necessary permits to DMCI because the developer presented a complete set of clearances including a document from the National Heritage Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) saying that the project does not obstruct the front view of the Rizal monument. “When we were already out of the office, the council suspended the construction but after one month, it was allowed to continue saying that all the permits were legal. Whatever that means, you can judge that,” De Guzman said. (Jenny Manongdo)