WB urges PH building code update

The World Bank is urging the Philippines and many other developing nations to improve not only building standards but also their implementation.

- By BEN ARNOLD DE VERA

According to a June 10 World Bank report titled “A Global Assessment of Building Codes: Current Status and Evolving Needs to Promote Resilient, Green, and Inclusive Buildings,” a comprehensive analysis of building codes across 22 countries, including the Philippines, showed that “in many of the countries assessed, there is a need to update codes, as they were last updated over a decade ago.”

The Philippines and Ghana were cited for having structural design building code documents published in the past decade, while the majority of countries in the report had even older documents.