Solon: Pass PH Building Act after Myanmar quake damaged structures

Rescue teams work to evacuate residents trapped under the rubble of the collapsed building, ‘Sky Villa Condominium development’ in Mandalay on March 30, 2025. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines  — A lawmaker has called on Congress to pass the proposed Philippine Building Act to ensure that new and existing infrastructure across the country will be ready against natural hazards, after a strong earthquake caused widespread damage in Myanmar and Thailand.

In a statement on Monday, Surigao del Sur 1st District Rep. Romeo Momo Sr. said that the earthquake that hit the Philippines’ two neighboring countries should be a reminder to prepare for possible scenarios, particularly the feared “Big One” quake that seismologists expect to hit Metro Manila in the future.

“We have seen firsthand the urgency to pass this law. What happened to Myanmar and Thailand should be an eye-opener because we need to take action while we can. In times of natural disasters and calamities, our preparedness will define our very nation,” Momo, chairperson of the House of Representatives’ committee on public works and highways, said.

“We cannot sit idly by as these things continue to happen around us. We must act now,” he added.

The proposed Philippine Building Act, as contained in House Bill (HB) No. 8500, was approved by the House last August 2023.  If approved by the Senate and eventually signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., it would replace the country’s over four-decades-old National Building Code.

The country’s existing building code was created through Presidential Decree No. 1096, signed in 1977 by the Chief Executive’s father and namesake, then-President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

The bill seeks to update the country’s standards regarding the “planning, design, construction, occupancy, maintenance, and demolition of buildings” and even streamline the building permit process.

In addition, the consolidated version of the bill would create a new system of classification of buildings and new requirements for zoning, fire prevention, environmental protection, and design.

READ: Proposed New PH Building Act approved on 3rd reading 

In the Senate, there are at least five bills similar to HB No. 8500, but all are still pending at the committee level.  As early as November 2023, after a magnitude 6.8 earthquake rocked parts of Mindanao and caused damage to several infrastructure, Momo has called on the Senate to approve the said measure.

READ: Senate pressed to pass new building code bill 

Momo said the Philippine Building Act can be a deterrent to earthquakes as strong as Magnitude 7.2.

“Do we wait for it to happen, or do we act now while we still can? The Philippine Building Act will set the wheels in motion, ensuring that our buildings, private and public, can withstand the power of a 7.2-magnitude earthquake,” he said.

“It is our duty as public servants to do everything that we can to protect our people from any potential harm, natural or man-made. We have been given this mandate to pass laws, enact policies, and implement programs and measures that will keep all Filipinos safe,” he added.

Concerns were raised about the state of buildings in the Philippines after a Magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand last March 28, leading to the destruction of several buildings, including high-rise ones.

As of reporting time, over 1,600 individuals have been confirmed dead.

READ: Myanmar quake death toll rises to 1,644 

In the Philippines, experts fear that at least 52,000 may die, with 500,000 others injured, should the West Valley Fault, a segment of the Marikina Valley Fault System that cuts from Bulacan down to Metro Manila and then Laguna, cause a Magnitude 7.2 earthquake.

A special report by PSA Philippines Consultancy Inc. in 2019 showed that the possible quake, dubbed the “Big One”, stated that at least two major earthquakes had been recorded originating from the West Valley Fault in the last 1,400 years.

READ: ‘Big One’ scenario in Metro: 52,000 dead, 500,000 injured 

With no significant movement over the West Valley Fault since the 16th century — as the fault system is expected to move every 350 to 400 years — there is a belief that a strong quake is ripe.