QC forms Manor probe team, padlocks licensing offi

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. created yesterday an independent probe team that will investigate the Manor Hotel fire last Saturday that killed 73 people.

Belmonte also said 30 inspection teams will be formed to check all hotels and other commercial establishments for possible safety violations to prevent a repeat of the incident.

At the same time, Belmonte ordered the padlocking of the Quezon City business permit and licensing office (BPLO) and the engineering office and relieved those in charge of both divisions.

The Office of the Ombudsman said yesterday it would also investigate city officials and engineers for suspected negligence after the Manor Hotel was given a permit to operate despite numerous violations of the Building Code of the Philippines.

As this developed, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) investigators filed charges of "recklessness resulting in multiple homicide and injuries" against Manor Hotel owner William Genato.

The BFP also ordered the closure of another hotel owned by the businessman, who earlier said he would only turn himself if formal charges are filed.

Genato’s wife Rebecca told the ABS-CBN last night that the only violations they had been fined for previously were the lack of a water sprinkler system and the lack of heat or smoke detectors.

In a press conference at Quezon City Hall, Belmonte said the formation of 30 teams, which would be responsible for the thorough inspection of at least five commercial establishments each, was part of efforts to speed up compliance to fire safety rules.

Each team would be made up of three members, led by an investigator from the BFP. The other two would come from the public order and safety office under the Quezon City government and the engineering office.

"The teams will be made up of credible people to make sure that no whitewash occurs in any investigation," Belmonte said.

The Quezon City mayor said he has ordered the relief of BPLO head Rafael Galvez and engineering chief Alfredo Macapugay, who were responsible for issuing the permits of the Manor Hotel.

"At this stage of the game, if you replace anyone, it won’t be as punishment but a precautionary move so as not to influence the outcome of the probe," he said.

Belmonte tapped technical support chief Roberto Nacianceno to head the engineering office and city hall administrator Pacifico Manghacot to head the BPLO in an acting capacity.

He said the two offices were padlocked to prevent tampering of documents related to the issuance of permits. The Central Police District (CPD) has requested access to all documents, which will be used as basis for an investigation.

"We will let them see all the papers pertaining to the operation of the hotel," Belmonte said.

Police have been unable to find Genato since the Saturday fire but authorities said he has contacted police and would surrender soon.

"He owns a lot of properties and is a very easy guy to find," Belmonte said.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Ombudsman said it will form a three-member panel to determine the liability of officials in the Manor Hotel tragedy.

Ombudsman Aniano Desierto said the panel will look exhaustively not only at the criminal aspect "but also at the administrative efficiency of the offices."

"The probe will signal the government’s determination in seeing to it that the laws on safety will be complied with. Leniency in implementation has made it very easy for building contractors and owners to circumvent these rules," Desierto said.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said it was also conducting a probe that will concentrate on gathering statements from hotel guests currently confined in different hospitals.

"We are conducting a parallel investigation to that of the BFP, but we will only be playing a supporting role," CIDG director Chief Superintendent Nestorio Gualberto said.

‘Recklessness’

National Capital Region fire marshall Senior Superintendent Romeo Villafuerte said they are now consolidating evidence against Genato, who could face a maximum penalty of six years’ imprisonment plus fines and compensation from the charge of recklessness.

A pre-dawn blaze hit the six-story Manor Hotel on Kamias Road in Kamuning, Quezon City last Saturday, killing 73 people among 200-odd guests who were trapped by locked fire escapes and iron bars on balconies.

In a report to Interior Secretary Jose Lina, inspectors said the building lacked a sprinkler system, emergency lighting as well as fire alarms and smoke and heat detectors. They also said the generator of the building had no automatic switch and that the fire extinguishers were not in accordance with standards prescribed by law.

Probers have established that an electrical short circuit on the ceiling of a storeroom caused the blaze.

"Smoke crept up the upper floors, causing the fatalities," Villafuerte said.

The concrete structure was built in the late 1970s and may have been previously damaged by fire. It was not originally designed as a hotel since there were no windows at the rear.

Lina said yesterday another hotel owned by Genato, the Sir William’s Hotel and Restaurant on Timog Avenue, was ordered closed following an inspection.

The defects and inadequacies of the Sir William’s were basically the same as those of the Manor.

BFP inspectors said hotel management admitted that they never conducted fire drills, and did not have a fire brigade and fire safety inspection certificate. They also found out that plywood partitions were never treated with fire-retarding chemicals.

Lina said more inspections will be carried out in other urban areas and that the media will be provided with a list of hotels that lack fire prevention and safety facilities some time after tomorrow.

73 dead, 51 injured

A 73rd victim, Connie Marasigan, died yesterday morning of smoke inhalation. Of the 51 injured, 20 are still receiving treatment in four hospitals.

Most of the dead were participants in a three-day Christian Crusade sponsored by the Texas-based Don Clowers Ministries. Tragedy struck before the so-called "Destiny Conference" was held on Saturday.

Survivors said they stayed close to the grilled windows where firemen doused them with water to cool them down. The bodies of several fatalities were found huddled in the bathrooms where they apparently hid in a vain attempt to evade the smoke. – With Delon Porcalla, Perseus Echeminada, Matthew Estabillo, Christina Mendez, Ella Oducayen