The cracks on the walls of President Duterte’s residence at Teachers’ Village (Dona Luisa Village 1) in Matina as posted by Sen. Bong Go immediately after the Oct. 31 6.5 earthquake may also be noted in some residences within the subdivision as the village is a low-cost mass housing project built by a local Filipino-Chinese developer in the early 70s.
The two-bedroom bungalow type house was purchased by then City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte from its original owner and was later converted to a two-storey residential house to make it spacious for the VIP occupants.
Since the foundation of the unit was only fitted for a single floor house, I believe that the President’s house is vulnerable to damage or collapse (God forbid) even to a minor tremor as seen by cracks on the walls. This is because of the additional weight introduced in the foundation.
I visited my old house which was sold at Dona Luisa Village 2 in Matina just across the President’s subdivision the other day for sentimental reasons and also to see its structural condition.
I personally supervised the construction of the house with elevated rooms and basement in 1982 with the assistance of an architect and I was sure of its solid foundation then. My family stayed there for about 35 years until we decided to sell it and transferred to our present location now.
We noted cracks in almost all corners of our old house and even in the basement flooring, presumably due to the series of earthmoving lately. It is now uninhabited.
We learned that the new owner decided to demolish the house and will replace it with a three-story residential building.
The President, for its sentimental value (It is in this low-cost house where Japan Prime Minister Abe stayed with the President for lunch, considered to be a historical event-LDT) for sure will not give up his present location despite his being the President.
Anyway, if it’s time for us to go, even the most solid foundation of can’t prevent it from giving way.
Ingat na lang po tayo, Mr. President!
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We also saw the premises of the Ecoland 4000 residences now condemned for human occupants following the 6.5 magnitude earthquake. Mayor Sara Duterte Carpio is now preparing a legal action against the project developer.
It was in 2012 when my daughter Tala asked me to apply for a condo unit on the same compound of the collapsed Ecoland 4000 is.
A sales agent asked for P20,000 from me then for reservation fee and 60% of the total cost of about P2.5 million of the unit upon approval of my application. And the balance to be paid from the bank in installment basis at P40,000 per month for three years.
I didn’t listen to my daughter and instead teased her to buy a house and lot in a posh subdivision. The property will be forever yours unlike a condo unit when after 50 years or so it will be demolished, I remember telling her then.
Its good Tala listened otherwise we will be among the condo unit owners now worried night and day seeing the adjacent Ecoland 4000 in the verge of total collapse.
God is really on my side always!
Meanwhile, Sen. Bong Go in a report said that the five-story Himeji Building of the Ecoland 4000 Residences, a project of property developer DMC Urban Property Developers Inc (DMC UPDI) apparently could not withstand a stronger quake as it has a very weak foundation-its first two floors collapsed.
But in the same report, DMC Homes said in a statement emailed to the media organizations that the Ecoland 4000 Residences is not their project.
“The company was not involved in the development, design, and construction of the same project,” it said.
Anyway, truth will come out in the long run, the sooner the better. For the meantime, it’s the Senator’s words against the property developer.
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Prospective buyers of condo units may now have second thoughts of residing in a high rise condominium in the light of the collapsed Ecoland 4000.
In that case, I am offering a fully-furnished house in a posh Damosa Fairlane for assume. Rest assured our house is also quake proof. Contact 09156987421 or 2952034 for more details. Owner is leaving the country.
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