Duterte warns Consunji’s DMCI: ‘Pag naasar ako sa 'yo, I will not grant you any permit’

President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday warned property developer DMCI Holdings, Inc. that it would no longer be issued government permit if it will not attend to the concerns caused by the partial collapse of its condominium building in Davao City.

The five-story Ecoland 4000 Residences was declared unsafe after it was hit and was partially damaged by the magnitude-6.5 earthquake which hit Mindanao in October last year. The condominium building was reportedly built by an affiliate of Consunji-led DMCI, one of the country’s top construction companies.

DMCI also has a stake in water firm Maynilad, whose concession agreement has been declared onerous by the government.

“Lahat ng condo niya, apat, 'yung isa bumagsak. Sa karaming building sa Davao, kanya lang ang maraming crack 'yung... Talagang huge cracks. Hindi 'yung hairline na ano. Talagang bumubuka. Ngayon, pinapahirapan niya,” Duterte said in a speech in Pigcawayan, Cotabato.

“Nung isang araw, nagsalita siya about concession sa water. Sabi ko, ‘Ikaw, may problema ka. Unahin mo 'yung problema mo sa tao.’ Kay kung builder ka, Consunji ka man o hindi, 'pag naasar ako sa iyo, I will not grant you any permit to dig.”

The President, in a television interview aired on Friday night, said he would seek an audit of all buildings constructed by DMCI. He also said Congress would launch an investigation on the damaged Ecoland building.

In a statement, DMCI affiliate, Urban Property Developers, Inc. (UPDI), said that as of January 10, 2020, it has reached a settlement with over twenty percent of the residents of Ecoland 4000 Condominium. —KG/MDM, GMA News