NBI-BFP probe finds no arson in Comelec blaze

Experts from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) have not found any trace of flammable substance on specimens taken from the gutted building of the Commission on Elections, indicating that the fire incident last March 11 at poll body’s main office in Manila was unintentional.

Senior Superintendent Fennimore Jaudian, chief investigator of the Inter-Agency Anti-Arson Task Force (IAAATF), said the NBI experts have so far completed the analysis of three of the five specimens and "none of them has any trace of flammable substance."

Jaudian’s team from the BFP collected the sample specimens from the building a few hours after the fire hit the Comelec building in Intramuros, Manila.

The five specimens include ashes from the ceiling, wall and other materials recovered from the building.

"Laboratory specimens were found negative for flammable substance. But we don’t want to conclude yet because two more substances are still subject for analysis," Jaudian told The STAR.

Jaudian noted that the NBI is set to complete the analysis on the remaining two specimens within the week.

The IAAATF vowed to complete the investigation in the Comelec fire in 15 to 30 days.

In the absence of analysis of two other specimens, Jaudian said the joint probe could not yet conclude the cause of the fire that razed the Comelec building and destroyed some P20 million worth of property.

"We can’t come up with a conclusion without the result of the analysis of the two other specimens," said Jaudian. They have, however, submitted the progress report to Interior Undersecretary Marius Corpus last Friday.

"Our final report will be dependent on several factors, including the analysis of NBI experts, statements of witnesses and other pieces of physical evidence taken from the scene of the fire," Jaudian said.

The statements of the five employees of the Comelec point to faulty electrical wiring but investigators still need to check the physical evidence from the scene of the fire.

Jaudian said the result of the investigation will surely be based on the result of the physical evidence gathered from the scene of the fire and not on statements of Comelec employees alone.

"So far we have identified the origin of the fire (to have been) at the ceiling or the upper portion of the structure. What we should do next is to identify the cause, but it’s too early to tell the cause," said Jaudian.

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, who is represented by Corpus, serves as head of the IAAATF while heads of various government agencies – the BFP, the Department of Justice, the Philippine National Police (PNP), the NBI and the Safety Organization of the Philippines (SOP), a non-governmental organization – serve as members.