Building regulations and disaster mitigation: The Philippines

The present form of building regulations in the Philippines makes it difficult to enforce a strong programme mitigating the effects of earthquakes. This lack of enforcement is discussed and recommendations show that fundamental changes will have to be made. On average a major earthquake has occurred in the Philippines once every six years since the year 1600. The annual population growth is 2.3%, while there is an annual loss of about 2% of the Gross National Product due to natural disasters. One way of mitigating against the disasters is to have stronger enforcement and seek ways of accommodating change.