Five QC officials sacked for hotel fire

The Office of the Ombudsman ordered the dismissal from the service yesterday of five Quezon City government officials who were found liable for the deaths of 74 people in a hotel fire in 2001.

An inquiry found that the Quezon City Manor Hotel operated without required permits and that fire safety regulators had not conducted safety inspections.

In a 33-page memorandum approved by Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) denied a motion for reconsideration filed by Quezon City engineer Alfredo Macapugay and four other City Hall officials.

The officials were questioning the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s decision that affirmed a memorandum approved by then Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo on Nov. 26, 2004 ordering their dismissal.

The memorandum ordered the dismissal from the service of Macapugay, fire city marshal Senior
Superintendent Manuel Baduria Sr., senior building inspection officer Romualdo Santos, chief of the business permits and license office Rafael Galvez, and electrical inspector Gerardo Villaseñor for "conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service."

Meanwhile, Fire Captain Reynaldo Simpao, chief of the fire prevention and inspection division, and engineer Rodel Mesa were ordered suspended for a year without pay for "conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service."

Senior fire officer Teodoro Gaela of the Quezon City Fire Station and Severino Mariano, a member of the inspection team, were suspended for one month without pay for simple neglect of duty.

Romeo Montallana, former acting chief of the electrical division, was ordered by the Ombudsman to return all benefits he had received from the government when he retired on June 8, 2002.

Macapugay and the four other officials questioned the authority of the Office of the Special Prosecutor to conduct administrative investigations.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor denied their appeal though, saying that "inasmuch as it is under the umbrella power of the supervision and control of the Ombudsman, in whose person is lodged the powers and functions of the Office of the Ombudsman, the Office of the Special Prosecutor therefore has the power to perform such other duties and functions as the Ombudsman may assign from time to time."

Many of those killed in the Aug. 18, 2001 fire died from smoke inhalation.

Investigation showed that the hotel operated without a business permit; the electrical division of the Quezon City government did not conduct an annual inspection of the building’s electrical systems from 1995-2000; the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) did not conduct an annual inspection of the hotel from 1992-1999; the hotel was issued permits from 1992-2001 without completing requirements; and the Quezon City Fire Station failed to enforce compliance based on a report submitted by the BFP in 2000.