|
Saturday, December 13, 2003
Only 4 Perutz fire victims 'identified'
By Ernie N. Olson Jr.
ALTHOUGH four of the eight victims who were killed in the fire that hit Perutz Bar along Magsaysay Avenue have already been identified by people who claimed to be relatives, the head of the Baguio Fire Department team investigating the conflagration said they are not yet 100-percent sure they were given the real names of these four fatalities.
"In fairness to these victims and their relatives, we cannot just accept that we were really given their exact names yet without more concrete proof because their families may have to avail of insurance claims and other benefits, and releasing the wrong information may jeopardize this," Fire Officer 3 Bernard Bravo explained Friday.
He said they are only sure about the identity of Marvin Paraiso, who was identified by his brother Marlon Paraiso, who resides at # 40 Capitol View Subdivision, Poro Point, San Fernando City, La Union. Marvin was earlier mistakenly identified by personnel from the Baguio City Emergency Medical Service as Marvin Mateo.
"Another reason why we cannot assume that we were really given the real names of the three `identified' girls was because they keep on changing their pseudonyms in almost every place that they transfer to due to the nature of their work," Bravo added about the women fatalities who worked at the club.
"The women fatalities are new here. They arrived in Baguio only a week ago from Laguna," a source disclosed.
In the meantime, according to available BFD records, 'Monica' was "tentatively identified" by her brother as Josie Mosquera, 18, from Patnugon, Antique. His brother, Rex, reportedly resides at #1005 Project 3, Quezon City.
Another fatality, who goes by the stage names 'Honey' and 'Kathy,' was also "identified" by her sister as Josie Concepcion of # 290 Camarin Road, Caloocan City. However, BFD records also show that the fatality's sister is also named Josie.
A third victim, who was called 'Katrina' by her colleagues, was also "identified" as Ching Pajardo by a certain John dela Peņa of Calamba, Laguna.
Bravo also pointed out the Perutz fire cannot be compared to the Ozone Disco conflagration that shocked the nation several years ago because, while the latter's fire escape was temporarily obstructed, the former's management "has satisfactorily complied with all the necessary provisions" of the Fire Code of the Philippines.
However, Bravo clarified Perutz's management still has some culpability in the deaths of the eight fire victims and should be made answerable for allowing people to sleep within their premises.
"We investigated their available records on file at City Hall and we found out that their permit was only for the operation of a nightspot and not for dwelling purposes. They should not have built sleeping quarters inside their establishment and should not have also allowed people to sleep in them," he stressed.
"We have also checked the wiring, where an electrical short-circuit started the blaze, but it seems that they have also used the standard #16 stranded wire adequate for lighting purposes inside the VIP room where the fire started," Bravo continued.
Bravo said their main problem as of Friday was finding out who should be made responsible for the lapses that led to the untimely death of the eight fire victims.
He revealed Perutz Bar was initially registered under the name of Fernando Guiang sometime in 1999, but that this business operation was turned over to Joselito Agapito on December 2, 2002. But they could not locate Agapito as of press time because his address on the business permit application was the same address as that of Perutz Bar and not his own residential address.
"However, we also discovered that the business operation has also been turned over again to Eugene Trabajador about a month ago, but no formal transfer documents could be unearthed to prove this transaction. Although we already found out where he lives, we are having a hard time getting in touch with him," Bravo added.
The fire that razed Perutz Bar, located at the basement of the Zenco Footstep building along Magsaysay Avenue late Thursday morning, also resulted in damages to property initially estimated at P100,000.
(December 13, 2003 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
[ return
to top ]
[ home
]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
|
