Fire hits Magallanes Village church

Fire gutted a 40-year-old church in a posh subdivision in Makati City yesterday morning, destroying an estimated P2 million worth of property, including a number of religious statues.

A subdivision guard said he saw smoke inside the Saint Alphonsus Mary de Liguori Parish in Magallanes Village at 4:35 a.m.

No one was reported hurt.

Fire Marshal Superintendent Arsenio Tabajonda said damage could exceed the P2 million mark since the antique narra pews inside cost P10 million while the air-conditioning system installed cost P12 million.

"The church was built in the 1960s and this was the first time it was ever hit by fire," Tabajonda said.

The church has a seating capacity of 500. While the interior was razed, there was minimal damage on the facade. Only the glass windows were destroyed.

"There were a lot of religious statues inside the church. Apart from the in-house statues, there were several small images of Mother Mary because parishioners had just celebrated the Feast of Mary and they used them in the processions. Some of these icons were made of expensive ivory," Tabajonda said.

The fire was put out at 5:32 a.m.

Investigators said the fire might have started two hours before smoke was discovered, or around 2 a.m. It may have already destroyed the ceiling and the foam of the air-conditioning system before the fire was discovered.

"Based on our initial investigation, the blaze may have been caused by short circuit," Tabajonda said.

A security guard was about open the doors of the church at 4:30 a.m. for parishioners attending the early morning Mass. But when he opened the door, he was greeted by thick smoke.

As the guard was about to call for help, the cone-shaped wooden ceiling fell on the pews. Eventually, he was able to call the fire department.