THE Supreme Court has issued a restraining order against the construction of the 46-story Torre de Manila.

With a vote of 8-5, “the Court resolved to issue a temporary restraining order effective immediately and until further orders from the Court enjoining respondent DMCI Project Developers Inc. from continuing with the construction and development of the Torre de Manila condominium project.”

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The Justices who voted to issue a restraining order without oral arguments were Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco, Arturo Brion, Teresita Leonardo de Castro, Lucas Bersamin, Martin Villarama, Jose Mendoza, Estela Perlas Bernabe and Francis Jardeleza.

On the other hand, the Justices who insisted that no TRO should be issued before oral arguments were Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, Associate Justices Mariano Del Castillo, Jose Perez and Bienvenido Reyes.

Meanwhile, Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta and Marvic Leonen were on leave.

The high court also set an oral argument on June 30.

Petitioner Knights of Rizal said the construction mars the view of the Rizal Monument in Luneta.

In its petition, they said when Torre de Manila reaches the full height of 46 floors by the target date of 2016, it would completely dominate the vista and, consequently, substantially diminish in scale and importance the most cherished monument of the national hero.

They added that the building’s developer has also violated Republic Act 7356 (law creating the National Commission on Culture and the Arts), Republic Act 4846 (Cultural Properties Preservation and Protection Act) and Republic Act 10066 (National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 or an Act Providing for the Protection and Conservation of the National Cultural Heritage).

Aside from this, the petitioner also asserted that DMCI violated the zoning ordinance of the city of Manila since the building is located in an area reserved for schools and government buildings as mandated under Manila City Ordinance 8119 (Zoning Ordinance of Manila). Tetch Torres-Tupas/AC

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