A lawyer said that under Philippine law, contractors are generally the ones held responsible when buildings fail due to poor construction or safety violations.

Atty. Simoun M. Salinas explained that the Civil Code places legal responsibility for defects in a building’s design and construction on architects and contractors, rather than on the property owners.

“Constructing a building involved highly technical matters, and mostly or usually, owners do not have such a level of knowledge or experience,” he said.

“While the National Building Code serves to enforce uniform standards to protect property and public welfare, the specific legal shield for property owners against structural failure lies within the Civil Code of the Philippines,” added Salinas, who expressed his independent view following the filing of complaints against the owner and contractor of the collapsed building in Angeles City.

The comments came after complaints were filed against both the owner and contractor of a building that collapsed in Angeles City. The May 24 incident claimed the lives of 30 people and prompted investigations by national government agencies and the local government unit.

Salinas cited the landmark Supreme Court case Nakpil vs. Court of Appeals (G.R. No. L-47851), which established that liability for construction defects falls on contractors and architects.

He explained that in the case, the contractor attempted to shift the blame to the building owner.

“In the 1988 Resolution dismissing Nakpil’s Motion for Reconsideration (243 Phil. 489), the contractor tried to shift responsibility to the owner of the building, stating that it was the responsibility of the Philippine Bar Association (PBA) as the building owner, to ensure and provide active round-the-clock supervision as the owner of the structure,” he narrated.

The Supreme Court rejected that argument.

“But the Supreme Court held that this position had no basis in law and fact, and was directly contrary to the ordinary practice that constructing a building involved highly technical matters, and beyond the ordinary experience of the owners.”

“Thus, the Supreme Court held that the trial court did not err in holding that charging the owner with full-time supervision of the construction has no legal or contractual basis,” Salinas said.

Salinas also pointed to Section 302 of the National Building Code, which requires that building plans, specifications, and engineering computations be prepared, signed, and sealed by licensed architects and civil or structural engineers.

“This presents the property owner’s reliance on licensed professionals to build the structure. The law recognizes that an owner generally lacks technical expertise,” he said.

“Therefore, if the building suffers a structural failure or collapses due to design flaws or poor engineering, the civil liability shifts away from the owner and squarely onto the professionals via Article 1723 of the Civil Code. which acts in tandem with the Building Code,” he added.

He further cited Sections 301 and 309 of the National Building Code, which require building owners to secure permits such as a Building Permit and a Certificate of Occupancy from the local building official.

According to Salinas, complying with these requirements can help demonstrate that a property owner acted responsibly.

He noted that such compliance serves as prima facie evidence that:

“the owner exercised the diligence of a good father of a family. It proves the state inspected the building and verified it met minimum safety standards, creating a robust shield against claims of gross or criminal negligence.”

Salinas said that owners who can show they obtained the proper permits and exercised due diligence in hiring qualified professionals may be protected from both civil and criminal liability.

“With that, if the owner can prove that it undertook all of the necessary obligations in securing the proper permits and licenses, and that he or she exercised proper and due diligence in selecting and hiring the contractor, etc then the owner has no liability under the law; the owner will not be liable criminally and civilly,” he said.

(AI-generated photo represents an activity in the construction of a structure.)

Reference:

Atty. Simoun M. Salinas
(0917) 855 1755