EDITORIAL - No deterrent to criminal negligence

After the tragedy at the Manor Hotel in Quezon City, several mayors are finally going after violators of building safety codes. Establishments are being padlocked and building inspectors are making the rounds of potential fire traps not only in Metro Manila but in other key cities. Not all local government executives seem equally concerned, however, and not all building owners are in a rush to comply with building and fire safety rules.

And why should they worry? Consider what happened after a fire razed the Ozone Disco in Quezon City, killing 162 people and leaving scores of others permanently disfigured. That conflagration – the worst peacetime fire to hit the country – occurred in 1996. Owners of the disco and several city government officials were formally charged with reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide and multiple serious injuries. It took the Quezon City Regional Trial Court five years to rule on the case, handing down its decision only last March 16, two days short of the fifth anniversary of the fire. 

Justice was not only delayed, it was a disappointment to many of the survivors and relatives of the fatalities. Only two officials of Ozone owner Westwood Entertainment were convicted; no city official was made to account for the deaths. The sentence was four years; the case is still on appeal. Westwood president Hermilo Ocampo and treasurer Ramon Ng are out on bail and have never been placed behind bars for the fire. The two were also ordered to pay a total of P25 million in indemnity: P150,000 to the heirs of each of the fatalities and P100,000 to each survivor.

If you stab a man to death, you could rot in prison for life, apart from being required to pay indemnity. If your negligence leads to the deaths of 162 people, you are ordered to pay indemnity but you’re allowed to remain free on bail. And the public officials whose failure to do their job contributed to the deaths get no punishment. No wonder the law is no deterrent to criminal negligence. No wonder building owners will invest good money on bathroom fixtures and bedroom furniture but not on smoke detectors, fire alarms, sprinkler systems or even adequate fire exits. No wonder the tragedies at Ozone Disco and the Manor Hotel occurred, and are likely to be repeated.