The Department of the Interior and Local Government is looking into the alleged issuance of building permits by the Parañaque City local government for houses purportedly built on top of reclaimed portions of Baloc-Baloc Creek.

"A team from our department is closely coordinating with the city government on this issue, particularly with the city building official and city engineering office," DILG Undersecretary Marlo Iringan told the DAILY TRIBUNE.

Iringan revealed that the DILG's Metro Manila office issued a memorandum on 28 December asking the city government to reply to the issues raised about the alleged illegal building of structures over the creek.

It may be recalled that residents of at least four subdivisions in the city blamed the flooding in their areas on the Wing-an Garden Resort at Multinational Village, which allegedly clogged the creek with construction debris.

Resort owner Selwyn Lao, in turn, pinned the blame on the real estate company owned by former Senate president Manny Villar and his wife, current Senator Cynthia Villar.

According to Lao, the Villars' company reclaimed parts of the original creek and built houses and a road over it within the Camella Homes Classic Subdivision. It then diverted the creek onto his property at Multinational.

DAILY TRIBUNE's continuing efforts to get reactions from Camella and the Villars have gone unanswered.

In response to the DILG query, the Parañaque City LGU said it had not issued a building permit to a woman who allegedly built a structure over the creek violating easement rules.

It maintained that the issuance of building permits is always subject to a stringent review process by the city building official to ensure compliance with the requirements of the National Building Code.

As for the alleged titling of a portion of the creek and its conversion to subdivision lots, Iringan said the city government is coordinating with the government agencies concerned on a technical survey of the subject area.

He said the flooding in the subdivisions, based on the investigation of the Parañaque City Environment and Natural Resources Office, or CENRO, is caused by "cemented debris from a construction project, which impeded the free flow of wastewater coming from upstream."

This finding, according to a CENRO official earlier interviewed by this paper, referred to work done at the Wing-An Garden Resort of Lao.

Iringan said the DILG expects a more comprehensive report from the city government to clarify the matter.