THE MUSHROOMING of high-rise buildings around UST, a national historical landmark, continues to be a problem, but the University has no power to stop it.
As a heritage site, UST deserves protection and recognition, said Faculty of Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina. But he admits there is nothing illegal with the market-driven motives of real estate developers.
“We have to take into consideration the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, which unfortunately does not specifically set height limitations of buildings surrounding a site declared as a National Cultural Treasure,” Divina said in an e-mail, adding that a special ordinance must regulate building heights and preservation of heritage sites and surrounding areas.
The National Museum named four sites in UST as National Treasures, namely: the open campus grounds, the Main Building, the Central Seminary, and the Arch of the Centuries
The high-rise boom began in 2007. Condominiums like the University Tower, Pacific Suites, and España Grand Residences now surround the campus.
Adding to the visual blight is the Pacific Suites Tower on Dapitan Street, a condominium building that disrupts the skyline of the iconic Main Building as seen from the Arch of the Centuries. Pacific Suites declined to comment.
“The proliferation like mushrooms of high-rise condominiums around UST undeniably ruins the sight line of the University, but as long as the condo developers comply with existing applicable laws and ordinance or qualify for zoning exceptions, such is legally permissible,” Divina said.
Divina said condominium developers must conform to Presidential Decree No. 1096, or the National Building Code, and other relevant laws restricting the heights of buildings in relation to the required floor-area ratio, or the proportion of a building’s total floor area to the size of the land where the structure is built.
No height limit
Section 27 of Manila City Ordinance No. 8119 states that buildings in open space zones have no height limits apart from those prescribed by the Air Transportation Office and other government regulations.
Violators of the ordinance will be fined with an amount not more than P20,000 or be imprisoned for a maximum of two years. But those who file a written application for exception before the Manila Zoning Board of Adjustment Appeals within 10 days upon receiving the notice of violation may be exempted from sanctions.
