Lawmakers seek probe of Zambo market fire

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines  – The city’s two representatives in Congress have urged an immediate and thorough investigation into the fire that razed a part of the old public market and killed 15 people at dawn last Saturday.

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)and Philippine National Police (PNP) must investigate the blaze  along with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the City Council, according to first district Rep. Celso Lobregat.

“Condolences and sympathies are not enough,” he said yesterday.

“I do not recall any fire incident in Zamboanga City that claimed so many lives. Many questions are being raised about the incident.”  

On the other hand, second district Rep. Lilia Nuño called for a full-blown investigation and sought to revisit the ordinances regarding the public market’s operation.

Lobregat questioned the failure of   fire trucks to immediately penetrate the fire scene despite the fire station being less than a kilometer away.

He also wants to know about the policies on dwellings inside the public market, the operating hours, and the security and safety measures in the public market.

The BFP in Zamboanga City said the fire spread quickly and the third alarm was raised within three minutes at about 3:18 a.m.

Responding firemen also had to wiggle through the narrow alleys because of illegal structures that prevented fire trucks from entering the scene of the fire.

Zamboanga City Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar said the market was built during the time of the late mayor Cesar Climaco.

The idea then was just to put a prayer room, but that later a mosque was built, she added.

A city ordinance prohibits anyone  from staying in the market, Salazar said.

However, evacuees from conflict zones in nearby barangays sought shelter in the area following the 2013 siege of Zamboanga City.

Salazar said the local government has directed the police and the BFP   to investigate the cause of the fire.

“Apparently it was the spark in the wiring of an electrical post when the light went off,” she said.