National Building Code of the Philippines (PD 1096)

Summary (Chapter I to Chapter VII)

Chapter I – General Provisions

What is PD 1096 for?

The national building code of the Philippines is created to provide a framework of minimum
standards and requirements for all building and structures in order to safeguard human life.

Exempted buildings?

 Traditional and indigenious family dwellings.

 Approval of the code in the event that alteration, renovation, repair, and the likes are made
on a part of the building, only that portion is subject to conform with the code.

Chapter II – Administration and Enforcement

Who are the administrators and enforcers of the code?

The administration and enforcement of the code falls upon the secretary of the department of
public works and highways (DPWH). He/She is responsible for the following duties.

 Formulation of guidelines and policies.

 Issue, announce and ensure conformity of rules and regulations in accordance with the
code.
 Prescribe fees and charges.
 Appoint building officials in all municipalities.

What are the duties of the building official?

The building official is appointed by the secretary to enforce the code within his appointed
jurisdiction or municipality, He/She is responsible for the following duties:

 Issue, deny and revoke building permits.

 Inspect building and structures for its conformity with the code.
 Collect and record an accurate account of fees collected.

What qualifications must a building official possess?

The building official must be:

 A Filipino citizen with good moral character.

 A duly registered architect or civil engineer.
 A member of his/her profession’s duly accredited organization for not less that two years.
 Has at least five years of professional experience in building design and construction.
 What happens to the fees collected by the municipality building official?

Not more than twenty (20%) of the fees will be retained by the office of the building official. It’s
allotted for the operation budget (administrative, travelling expenses, equipment) of the office.

The rest will be deposited to the municipality treasurer for accounting and budgeting.

What building are exempted from the collection of fees?

 Public and government buildings

 Traditional indigenous family dwellings constructed of native materials (bamboo, nipa,
sawali, lumber) and total cost does not exceed fifteen thousand pesos ( PHP 15,000.00).

What is considered a dangerous building?

Building that do not conform with the code are dangerous to human life.

Samples quantities of a dangerous building:

Structurally unsafe

Fire hazard

Not provided with safe egress

Inadequate maintenance

Unsafe electrical wiring

Chapter 3 – Permits and inspection

Who issues the building permits?

The building official issues the building permit. He and his staff are authorized to inspect
construction sites, plans and specifications to check if they conform to the code’s standards. The office is
also authorized to deny applications and revoke permits if the standards of the code is not being
followed.

Proceeding construction without obtaining a building permit is prohibited.

What documents are needed to be submitted in order to obtain a building permit?

 Description of the proposed work (to be indicated in the building permit form)
 Use and occupancy of the proposed work (to be indicated in the building permit form)
 For lot owner applicants – certified true copy of transfer certificate of title (TCT)
 For lot lessee applicants – copy of contract lease
 Estimated cost of the proposed work
 Five (5) sets of plans and specifications prepared, signed and sealed by registered and
licensed professionals.

Processing of the building permit

 The processing of building permits is under the administrative control and supervision of
the building official’s office.

Once the plans and specifications are approved, it shall not be altered and construction shall be
strictly in accordance to the approved plans unless the changes are approved by the building
official.

Issuance of the building permit

The building official’s office shall issue the building permit within fifteen (15) days after
the payment of the prescribed fees.

When will a building permit expire?

 One year after the date of issue if the construction is not commenced.
 One hundred twenty (120) days after suspension or abandonment of work.

Reasons why a building permit is denied, revoked or supended:

 Errors in plans and specifications

 Incorrect data provided
 Plans and specifications do not conform with the code
 Construction has deviated from the approved plans and specifications
Further reasons as to why the application or the permit is denied will be cited by the
building official upon non-issuance, suspension or revocation of the permit.

Who is responsible for the supervision and inspection of the site construction?

A registered and licensed architect or civil engineer engaged and hired by the owner
shall be responsible for the full-time supervision of the construction site.

A logbook shall be kept at the construction site and updated with the progress of the
construction. This logbook shall be signed and sealed by the supervising architect or civil
engineer and submitted to the completion in order to obtain a certificate of occupancy.

What is a certificate of occupancy?

A certificate issued by the office of the building official to indicate that the building
suitable for use and occupancy.

It shall be issued within thirty days after the final inspection and submission of the certificate of
completion.

Buildings and structures shall not be used or occupied until a certificate of occupancy is issued.

Chapter IV – Types of construction

What are the types of construction?

All propose buildings are classified according to the type of materials used its fire
resistive properties. Construction types are used to determine if they are suitable for fire zones.
 In summary, there are five types of construction:

Type I – Wood construction

Type II – Wood construction with fire resistive materials one hour fire resistive.

Type III – Masonry and wood construction with fire resistive materials one hour fire resistive
with incombustible exterior walls

Type IV – Steel iron, concrete masonry construction with incombustible interior walls

Type V – Steel iron, concrete masonry construction of structural elements four-hour fire
resistive.

Chapter V – Requirements for fire zones

What are fire zones?

Fire zones are areas wherein only certain types of buildings are allowed to be
constructed based on the type construction used and fire restrictive qualities of the building.

There are three classifications of fire zones:

 Non-fire restricted zones

 Fire restrictive zones
 Highly fire restrictive zones

What are the definitions of the fire zone classifications?

 Non-fire restricted zone – all types of construction is allowed

 Fire restrictive zones – Type I construction is not allowed
 Highly fire restrictive zones – Type I, Type II and Type III construction is not allowed

How to classify building within two fire zones?

 If one third of the building total floor area is in the more restrictive zone, then it shall be
classified as part of that zone.

Chapter VI – Fire-resistive requirements in construction

What are fire resistive ratings?

Fire resistive ratings are used to determine the degree by which a material can withstand fire.

Fire resistive ratings determine the rating of the material by the length of time before a material
can withstand being burned.

Types of ratings:

 One-hour rating
 Two-hour rating
 Three-hour rating
 Four-hour rating
Chapter VII – Classification and general requirements of all buildings by use of occupancy

What does occupancy mean?

Occupancy is the use of a building or structure. Buildings and structures are classified
into types of occupancies and general requirements differ per occupancy. In the code, there are
10 classifications of occupancy, some with sub-groups under them.

Group A – Residential dwellings

Group B – Residential hotels and apartments

Group C – Education and recreation

Group D – Institutional

Group E – Business and mercantile

Group F – Industrial

Group G – Storage and hazardous

Group H – Assembly

Group I – Assembly with 1000 or more occupant load

Group J – Accessory

Group A – Residential dwellings

A-1 - Residential building for single family

- School or company staff houses

- Boarding houses (no more than eight boarders)
- Residential houses with neighborhood stores (provided that the shop does not
exceed 10% of the total floor area of the dwelling unit)
- Churches, parks and playground

A-2 - Non-leasing occupants not exceeding ten(10)

- School campus dormitories and schools with up to sixteen(16) classrooms

- Military barracks, convents and monasteries
- Residential houses with offices or home occupation(provided the floor area of the
office space does not exceed 30% of the total floor areas and the people engaged
does not exceed ten(10) people)

Group B – Residentials, Hotels and Apartments

- Multiple dwelling units that can accommodate more than ten(10) people
- Low-rise non-leasing condominiums and tenement houses (building height up to
five storeys)
 - Elementary and high schools with up to twenty classrooms
- Condominiums five to twelve storeys high

Group C – Education and recreation

C-1 – Educational facilities

- School and day-care facilities

- Universities and colleges
- School auditoriums and gymnasiums
- Libraries, museums and exhibit halls

C-2 - Recreational facilities

- Amusement halls
- Massage and sauna parlors
- Billiard halls, pool rooms and golf clubhouses
- Dancing schools, disco, health studios and salons

Group D – Institutional

D-1 - Building wherein personal liberties of occupants are restrained

- Mental hospitals and asylums

- Jails, prisons
- Reformatories and rehabilitation centers

D-2 - Full-time health-care facilities accommodating more than five people

- Home for the aged and nursing homes

- Hospitals with non-ambulatory patients
- Nurseries for children below kindergarten age

D-3 - Institutions for ambulatory patients or children over kindergarten age

- Home for the aged and nursing homes (with ambulatory patients)
- Hospitals with ambulatory patients
- Nurseries for children over kindergarten age

Group E – Business and Mercantile

E-1 - Service and maintenance stations without the use of open flame welding or highly
flammable liquids

- Gas filling stations

- Storage garages

E-2 - Low-rise to medium rise utilitarian buildings

- Builidings with community support functions

- Examples: transport terminals, depots and the like
E-3 - Aircraft hangers and open garages

- Department stores
- Shopping malls
- Commercial complexes

Group F – Industrial

- Non-pollutive and non-hazardous industries

- Department stores
- Shopping malls
- Commercial complexes

Group G – Storage and Hazardous

G-1 - Storage for hazardous gases and materials

- Processing plants for flammable materials

- Water and power generation and distribution plants
- Liquid and solid waste management facilities

G-2 - Dry cleaning plants

- Paint stores
- Paint shops and spray painting rooms
- Sign and billboard painting shops

G-3 - Organic material warehouses and facilities (wood, paper, textile and garment)

- Wood and lumber mills

- Pulp, paper and paperboard factories
- Grains and cement silos
- Garment and undergarment factories

G-4 - Repair garages and engine manufacturing facilities

- Turbine and engine factories and testing facilities

G-5 - Aircraft facilities

- Hangars
- Aircraft engine manufacturing and assembly factories

Group H – Assembly w/ Occupant load<1000

H-1 - Assembly halls with stage and occupant load less than 1000

- Convention halls
- Theaters and concert halls
- Auditoriums

H-2 - Assembly halls with stage and occupant load is between 300 to 999
 - Dance halls and ballrooms
- Skating rinks
- Cockfighting arenas

H-3 - Assembly halls with stage and occupant load is less than 300

- Dance halls and ballrooms

- Skating rinks

H-4 - Tourism oriented structures not included in H-1

- Resort complexes
- Amusement parks
- Sports stands and boxing arenas
- Race tracks

Group I – Assembly w/ occupant load>1000

I-1 - Assembly halls with stage and occupant load more than 1000

- Coliseum and sports complexes

- Theaters and convention centers
- Concert halls

Group J – Accesory

J-1 - Agricultural structures

- Sheds, barns, piggeries and the like

- Stables, greenhouses, silos and granaries
- Poultry houses

J-2 - Private garages and carports

- Fences over 1.8 meters high

- Separate fire walls
- Steel and concrete tanks
- Towers and smokestacks
- Swimming pools, shower and locker rooms

J-3 - Stages, platforms and similar structures

- Basketball, tennis and badmintons courts

- Tombs and mausoleums
- Zoo structures
- Banks and record vaults

Can we change a building’s occupancy?

 Yes, but the change has to be approved by the building official and the building must
comply with the requirements of the code. Unless approved by the building official, no change
shall be made in the building’s occupancy.

How do we classify mixed occupancy building?

For mixed occupancy building more than one-storey, the occupancy with the most
restrictive requirement shall be used.

For one-storey building, each portion of the building needs to conform to the
requirements of its own occupancy.

For buildings with minor accessory, unless the minor accessory occupies more than 10%
of the floor area, the whole building shall be classified under its major occupancy.

What are the types of occupancy separations?

Mix-used buildings are separated by occupancy separations. They are classified into four
types:

 One-hour fire resistive – openings shall be protected by a fire-assembly with one-hour

resistive rating
 Two-hour fire resistive – openings shall be protected by a fire-assembly with two-hour
resistive rating
 Three-hour fire resistive – opening area must not be greater than ten sqm and opening
length must not exceed 25% of the storey’s wall length.
 Four-hour fire resistive – no openings allowed

Zones

What is the difference between zone and occupancy?

Occupancy is the term used for the use of a building. Zone, however is the term used for
the use of lands and lots. Buildings also have different general requirements based on the land
zone it is in.

Zoning Classification Summary

Zone R – Residential

Zone GI – General institutional

Zone C – Commercial

Zone UTS – Utilities, Transportation and services

Zone SPE – Special

Zone I – Industrial

Zone PRE – Parks structures, recreation and entertainment

Zone CUL – Cultural

Zone A – Agricultural

Zone AI – Agro-Industrial

Zone PUD – Planned Unit Development

Firewalls

What are firewalls?

Firewalls are exterior fire resistance walls that prevent fire from spreading between
buildings and structures. It allows a building to extend into the setbacks.

Firewall provision differ per lot. Restrictions and limitations of firewalls are based on the land’s
zoning classification.

All existing firewall opening must be sealed.

Zone R-1 Firewall

- Not allowed
- Only an abutment of up to 3.20 meters high is allowed, provided that;
* The abutment’s purpose is only to provide support for a car roof.
* The abutment must be constructed of perforated concrete blocks above 1.5
meters from the natural grade line(NGL)
* Abutment shall be no longer than seven meters or 50% of the side property line.