A FARMER who saved P215,000 in cash will have to start all over after the money he saved for the education of his children was burned in Jappa, Shilan, La Trinidad, Benguet.
In a spot report from the Benguet Provincial Police Office, a concerned citizen called and informed the La Trinidad Municipal Police Station (LTMPS) that a house was burning in the area.
Police identified the owner of the house as Ruben Zarate Camilo, 59, a farmer and resident at Jappa, Shilan.
Investigation revealed that around 7 a.m. Monday, November 26, Camilo went to his farm while his wife, Febrina Tereng Camilo, went to the Provincial Capitol for a transaction.
Ronnel Tereng Camilo, son of the owner of the house, went out around 7:45 a.m. to attend his class in Tublay, Benguet, leaving his younger brother Ram and a special child inside their sala at the second floor watching television.
Around 8:20 a.m., village chief Jeffrey Maslag noticed a smoke coming from the second floor of the house. He rushed to the area and saw Ram playing outside, holding a match.
The second floor of the house made of wood and GI sheets was already burning when Maslag arrived.
The two storey house was totally burnt and fire was declared out by the Bureau of Fire Protection around 9:20 a.m.
At least P700,000 worth of damage and P215,000 cash kept in Camilo's closet was burned.