The raging controversy over the Torre de Manila in Rizal Park (http://www.philstar.com/
Both controversies have a common denominator: the high-handedness of the mighty corporations that ignore city zoning regulations. The first showed the heavy hand of David Consunji and his DMCI organization and the Loyola Heights high-rises powered by the Henry Sy group and Cynthia Villar conglomerate.
What is really bothersome about both these unfortunate events is that this method of bullying and bulldozing less powerful and less connected organizations to succomb to the greed of powerful conglamerates can be repeated again and again. And at each instance, the immoral transgressors are rewarded by getting the benefit of their misdeed unscathed. Is there no way to undo the fruit of their evil ways? It is said we cannot undo what is done and is already cast in stone. Will the victims of these clear transgressions just bury in their minds the injustice done on them?
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Rise of 42-story building sparks Loyola student protest
Rising over one of the busiest intersections in Quezon City is a building that will be nearly twice as high as any other in the neighborhood. A well-coiffed student protest movement is trying to stunt its growth.
Students of Ateneo de Manila University and Miriam College demanded Friday that the Quezon City government revoke the exemption it issued in 2010 allowing the SM Development Corporation’s (SMDC) Blue Residences tower to exceed the height limit prescribed in the city’s comprehensive zoning ordinance.
They said that their area is a fault line prone to earthquakes that make it risky for a structure that tall. Moreover, they argue that a building that high will drastically increase traffic in an area already notorious for rush-hour jams of cars dropping off and fetching well-to-do students.
Andrew Copuyoc and Nicole Alonzo, presidents of the student councils of Ateneo and Miriam respectively, said only buildings of up to 24 stories may be built in that area of Loyola Heights where Blue Residences is being constructed.
However, SMDC was able to secure a zoning exemption from the city council of Quezon City which allowed the developer to add 18 more stories to make the mixed-use condominium structure 42 stories high, Copuyoc said.
Members of the Barangay Loyola Heights community took to the streets Friday urging Quezon City officials to revoke the special zoning exemption given to SM Development Corp., developer of the 42-story condominium Blue Residences. Candice Montenegro
“The (Loyola Heights) community is questioning not just the exemption given, but also the manner by which it was given to SM," Copuyoc said. "SMDC got the exemption within just one day, when this process usually takes months to get approved."
"We wonder why the decision was made with such haste, and why SMDC bypassed the Loyola Heights barangay for the permits they need," he added.
"There are a lot of concerns. Not only will it cause heavier traffic, but the building also stands on top of a fault line. This will pose danger not only to the residents of the condominium but also to residents living near the structure," Miriam College’s Alonzo added.
Residents of Barangay Loyola Heights, including gated subdivisions La Vista, Alta Vista, Loyola Grand Villas, Xavierville, and Varsity Hills, are also opposing the project.
SMDC has the permits
SMDC, in a statement Wednesday, said it obtained prior consent and approval from Barangay Loyola Heights, the Quezon City government and other concerned agencies before the construction of Blue Residences started.
"As a result, a barangay clearance, location clearance, environment clearance, building permit and other permits were issued in SMDC's favor," the statement said.
Construction of the 42-story Blue Residences condominium at the corner of Katipunan Avenue and Aurora Boulevard continues amid protests and petitions to have its special zoning exemption revoked.
SMDC also denied that they bypassed Barangay Loyola Heights before they started building the Blue Residences tower.
"A barangay hearing was conducted by Barangay Loyola Heights on February 3, 201... [I]n all these hearings the Loyola Heights community was allowed to voice out their concerns and such concerns were answered by SMDC consultants,' the statement said.
SMDC said the city government "has also ruled that there was no violation of any law by SMDC which paved the way for the lifting of the suspension order against the construction of Blue Residences."
Blue Residences is expected to be ready for turnover to buyers by 2014, according to SMDC's official website. The tower has 41 floors and a roofdeck. It is rising on a 4,234.51 square meter triangular lot at the intersection of Katipunan Avenue and Aurora Boulevard, near the border of Quezon City and Marikina.
Smooth sailing through city council
Copuyoc said they are protesting not just the fact that SMDC was given a zoning exemption but also the fact that the Quezon City council granted it to the company. He said the resolution was proposed and passed on the same day, bypassing the legislative deliberations it had to go through.
According to research by the Ateneo student council, the city council proposed and passed the “Resolution Authorizing the Issuance of a Certificate of Exception" to SMDC for the Blue Residences tower on March 8, 2010 when now Mayor Herbert Bautista was still vice mayor and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte was mayor. The acting presiding officer when the council voted to exempt was then Councilor, now Congressman Jorge “Bolet" Banal Jr.
The Blue Residences resolution was “bundled with other resolutions in favor of SMDC… passed without a single argument on the matter," the Ateneo Sanggunian ng Mga Mag-aaral statement said.
The other measures were for two other property development projects in the city. Former Councilor Ariel Inton introduced the resolutions with “seconding motions" coming from Councilor Victor Ferrer Jr.
Ateneo: Building permit issued despite protests
Earlier this year, the Ateneo administration voiced out its objections to the Blue Residences project. In a position paper issued in February this year, Ateneo vice president for administration and planning Edna P. Franco said SMDC got the exemption “without following the required process."
Franco also said there was “absence of any deliberation" in the city council. She noted that SMDC “began construction of the tower without a building permit" and excavation activities were noticeable in December 2010 although the city engineer issued the building permit only on January 20, 2011.
She said the university wants the construction of the Blue Residences “stopped until a true consultation process has taken place."
Franco appealed to the Quezon City government to “demonstrate a model of good governance" and urged the “responsible shareholders of SMDC to fulfill their articulated mission of being good corporate citizens."
Some QC councilors oppose SMDC tower
In a text message to GMA News Online, Quezon City councilor Allan Reyes said there is a proposed Resolution 10-223, which Councilor Precious Hipolito Castelo filed, seeking to revoke the exemption issued to SMDC.
"The resolution is on the committee level, but the city council is on recess now," Reyes said. "We have no idea right now as to the hearing schedule." GMA News Online tried to contact Hipolito and Councilor Bong Suntay for comment, but both councilors could not be reached as of this posting.
There is at least another 42-story mixed purpose condominium, for which the city council also granted a zoning exemption. This other project is by Vista Residences Inc. and it has two 42-story towers. The council approved the exemption through Resolution No. SP 4926, S-2010.
City councilors amended the zoning ordinance itself only last June via Ordinance No. SP 2069, S-2011. — Candice Montenegro, with Earl Rosero/VS/HS, GMA News
