Marikina passes ‘No Garage, No Building Permit’ ordinance

MANILA, Philippines – Marikina City business owners must now prove that they have provisions for parking spaces before they apply for building permits from the city government, said Mayor Marcelino Teodoro.

Marikina’s ‘No Garage, No Building Permit’ ordinance stipulates that businesses are required to have adequate garage facilities in order to be issued building permits for construction. 

While Marikina has already been enacted this ordinance, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has refiled the “Proof of Parking” bill under the 18th congress. The bill requires a car buyer to present proof of a parking space before he is allowed to buy a unit. (READ: Proof of parking bill, useful in emergencies, too – lawmaker)

In a statement, Marikina Councilor Donn Favis, who is the primary author of the ordinance amendment, said that requiring parking provisions could lessen the number of vehicles that park on roads.

The amendment was also made in line with the Department of Interior and Local Government’s directive to clear roads and sidewalks of obstructions.

“Ang totoo niyan ang roads kasi ay hindi naman [are neither] owned by the residents living or operating a business in the area. Wala sa kanila ang pagmamay-ari nun, pagmamay-ari noon ay nasa gobyerno,” Favis said.

(The truth is, roads are neither owned by residents nor business owners in the area. These are owned by the government.)

Aside from this, Favis also proposed an ordinance that would remove subdivision gates in Marikina to provide motorists with alternate routes. However, homeowners objected to this initiative.

“[There] are objections from some homeowners associations, but they have to comply. We have already passed this in the council,” Favis said.

According to Teodoro, some subdivisions have already voluntarily removed their gates to comply with the ordinance, which was also created in line with the DILG directive.

Earlier Marikina City also imposed a three-strike policy in clearing the streets of vendors. – with reports from Loreben Tuquero/Rappler.com