NAGA CITY---The United Architects of the Philippines (UAP), Camarines Sur chapter, has threatened to file criminal and administrative charges against the city engineer here for his alleged “blatant disregard and continuous violation” of the Architecture Act of 2004.

        In a statement sent to the Bicol Mail, chapter president Architect Jingle P. Mazo said that the “filing of administrative and criminal complaints against Engr. Leon B. Palmiano IV…with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the Office of the Ombudsman” will be initiated by the UAP Camarines Sur Chapter.She said, like Palmiano, other officers, professionals and persons who “abetted in the illegal acts of the said acting building official will be similarly charged”.

        Mazo complained that “many national and local government officers persist in refusing to implement a valid and subsisting law—a law that has never been a subject of any court injunction” as she referred to The Architecture Act of 2004 which became effective on April 10 of the same year.

        She claimed that the “willful and continuous disregard” by government officials “to fulfill their mandate as public officers in implementing the laws of the land has for many years prejudiced the Filipino public and even compromised our natural and built-environment.”

        Finally, Mazo warned that “entrusting our basic need for decent shelter and spaces in the hands of the unqualified and untrained professionals cannot end “injustice.”