PRRD orders all Chuzon supermarkets to halt operations

FILE: President Rodrigo R. Duterte attends situation briefing in San Fernando, Pampanga on Tuesday (April 23, 2019), a day after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck parts of Luzon, killing at least 16 people. (Photo courtesy of ex-SAP Bong Go via PNA)

MANILA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Tuesday ordered all Chuzon supermarkets to stop business operations after one of its buildings collapsed in Porac town due to a 6.1 magnitude earthquake that struck areas of Luzon on Monday.

“It would be good at this time to just give them the advice to stop, cease and desist doing business until such time that the clearance given by government,” said Duterte during a situation briefing in San Fernando, Pampanga.

“In all probability, the one who constructed the supermarket here could also be the one who constructed the others. I’d like to presume that. Although I stand corrected,” he added.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said his agency will soon be issuing a memorandum circular to temporarily suspend all Chuzon supermarkets’ business permits until their buildings’ structural integrity have been re-assessed.

There are about four other Chuzon supermarkets around Pampanga aside from the one which collapsed, Año said. He said the structure which collapsed was only built about four years ago.

Año said the structural design of the supermarket is “only good for” a two-story building, however, it was constructed to have four floors.

Duterte also wanted a city engineer or “whoever is competent” to review whether the right materials were used in the construction of the supermarket and whether there were any shortcuts made.

“(It) has to be examined whether they can withstand the additional two-story and may I know if this was accompanied by a new application to add another story,” Duterte said.

To date, Año said the owner of the supermarket has been summoned by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said based on his agency’s initial reports, there seemed to be “insufficient” foundation in the construction of the building.

“Judging by the way it collapsed frontwards, there could definitely be a problem with the foundation. It’s hard to speculate but you know possibly with the columns, the foundation seems to be insufficient,” Villar said.

“It’s still too early to come out with exact (findings) pero naka (but we have) deploy na po yung (our) forensics team to identify,” he added.

Villar also bared that while the Chuzon supermarket collapsed, nearby buildings remained undamaged.

“There will be a lot of questions there because one, it is a newly-built (building) only four years and the fact that the extensive damage was appalling in the sense that there was a collapse and the other building around made also of cement and structural materials, steel, wala namang bumagsak (none of them collapsed),” Duterte said.

“Año and maybe DPWH (Secretary Villar) and the police would help in the determination of the structural integrity of that building, whether it was a defect, man-made or one of those really that it could happen, is that it was a bad day for them to have it,” he added.