NBI: No proof of arson yet in warehouse fire

CEBU CITY — A week after the P200-million fire at a Cebu Ports Authority (CPA) warehouse, investigators of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said they still have to establish evidence to prove there was arson.

NBI executive officer Ernesto Macabare said they have so far subpoenaed five witnesses, including security guard Elmer Tanawan, to get their statements and subjected them to polygraph tests to see if they were telling the truth.

Macabare, however, refused to identify the other witnesses and the results of the lie detector tests, saying it would be premature for the NBI to do so at this time.

The NBI has requested the Bureau of Fire Protection for a joint inventory of the items burned inside the CPA warehouse where seized and abandoned imported goods and luxury vehicles were stored.

Initial reports showed that there were 22 vehicles in the warehouse when the fire struck.

Macabare said they asked the Insurance Corp. to check which of the burnt items in the warehouse were insured.

He said they have also coordinated with the Securities and Exchange Commission to know the incorporators of Starlite Cargo where the fire allegedly started.

Logbooks of the Bureau of Customs indicating the movement of goods before and during the fire were also gathered and studied, Macabare said.

Probers, however, could not enter the burnt warehouse due to safety concerns.

Macabare said equipment and engineers are needed to ensure that the structure would not collapse once they are inside the place for an inspection. — Freeman News Service