WHEN the ground begins to shake, no amount of prayer or panic can save lives inside a poorly built structure. Only one thing can — compliance with the National Building Code.
As reported by this paper recently, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) secretary Renato Solidum Jr.’s recent reminder could not have been timelier. Western Visayas, crisscrossed by the West Panay Fault and shadowed by the Negros Trench, sits on dangerous ground. Yet, many of our buildings — homes, schools, and even government facilities — remain structurally questionable. Decades of complacency and lax enforcement have turned what should be safe shelters into potential death traps.
Let us be clear: the National Building Code is not a set of suggestions. It is the nation’s architectural backbone for safety — a comprehensive framework designed to ensure that every pillar, beam, and wall can endure the violent forces of nature. But too often, local government units (LGUs) and builders treat compliance as a formality to tick off, rather than a duty to uphold.
How many more times must experts like Secretary Solidum warn us before we act decisively?
We have the tragic memory of the 1948 Lady Caycay earthquake — a magnitude 8 disaster that shook towns across Panay Island — yet we continue to gamble with safety. Each non-compliant structure that rises today is a future headline waiting to happen.
LGUs must take the lead. Permits should not be issued to projects that fail to meet code requirements, and inspections should be rigorous, regular, and corruption-free. Retrofitting old buildings must become a priority, especially schools, hospitals, and public offices where lives are most at stake.
Every official who turns a blind eye to substandard construction, every contractor who cuts corners, and every engineer who signs off on unsafe plans bears responsibility when tragedy strikes.
Compliance must also extend to public awareness. Citizens should be educated about the importance of demanding safe structures — from the homes they buy to the workplaces they enter. Disaster preparedness begins not only with drills and response plans, but with the assurance that the walls around us will hold. Safety is everyone’s business, and survival starts with collective vigilance.
The next big earthquake is not a question of if, but when. The time for excuses has long passed. Strict compliance with the Building Code is not bureaucracy — it is survival. And in a region as seismically vulnerable as ours, survival is not negotiable.
