source: Shoulda coulda woulda: Ceiling collapses in MegaWorld BGC condo | Coconuts Manila




THE PROBLEM: Bedroom ceiling at a top-end BGC condominium collapses on sleeping family and the developer has refused to take responsiblity.

THE INCIDENT: At 1am of July 25, the ceiling literally came down on Thania Alcantara, her husband and two children while they were asleep in their loft apartment on the fourth floor of Bellagio Tower Two in BGC. They woke up to the sound of water gushing and falling debris. Fearing it was an earthquake, they got out of the bedroom and ran to the first floor of their condo.

Thania and her family went down to the lobby and waited for the property manager to explain what happened, but after waiting for hours, neither the property manager nor the Megaworld representative showed up. So they had no choice but to spend the night at her parent's house.

Thania returned the following day to found out what really happened: the ceiling had collapsed on their bed.

"They said that their maintenance contractor, MLS Service, was replacing a water valve on the 19th floor at 1am and may not have closed the valves properly and water gushed out," she tells Coconuts Manila.

"When we checked the unit again, we saw an opening around the exhaust duct which is all the way up to the 30th floor. It turns out that there was a shaft directly above our ceiling which ends on my unit. I had it inspected by engineers and building safety experts and they said that opening is supposed to be sealed."

THE RESPONSE: "Megaworld's engineers and construction people finally inspected the unit on Oct 25 — three months after the incident. Megaworld's VP said it is standard practice not to seal vertical openings. But according to the building code it should be," explains Thania.

Megaworld's customer relations department has since offered Thania and her family a new one bedroom unit. But she is not accepting, since Megaworld wanted her to pay extra. "They are basing the unit prices from the pre-selling rate instead of the current rate. So no deal," she explains.

They have also given her a letter of recommendation on repairs that need to be done in her unit. Thania in return asked them for a due diligence report. She is still waiting for it. After four months of waiting, Thania and her husband, William has filed a formal complaint against Megaworld at the HLURB. No date has yet been set on the hearing.

SHOULD COULDA WOULDA: The aggrieved owners have been able to wait patiently for four months without filing any charges. This means they are open to negotiation. The developer, Megaworld, should just fix the ceiling, replace damaged furniture and objects, and figure out ways to prevent this from happening again. If word gets out that Megaworld is cutting corners just to meet deadlines and cost, they are putting themselves in a bad spot with consumers. They should also have tried resolving this as soon as possible and not allowed it to drag on for months.
source: Shoulda coulda woulda: Ceiling collapses in MegaWorld BGC condo | Coconuts Manila