ACCORDING to Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office Chief Nagiel Banacia, “social problems are some of the factors that contribute to fires, which are regular occurrences in urban poor barangays like Duljo-Fatima.”
I think Banacia was on to something. However, he should have expounded on what he meant by that statement.
Investigators still don’t know what caused the fire that gutted 18 houses in Sitio Cepadol in Barangay Duljo-Fatima on Saturday night, Jan. 5. However, the public has a pretty good idea who the culprit was in the fire that struck the barangay on Christmas Day.
Several witnesses said they saw Rene Boy Aguanta pour gasoline on his motorcycle after fighting with his wife right before the inferno started.
If indeed Aguanta was responsible, he needs to apologize to his neighbors and to the 659 families who lost their homes, not to mention the firefighters who risked their lives to douse the flames. Come to think of it, an apology would be an understatement. Anyway, even if he is willing to apologize, he needs to show up first. Apparently, he fled right after the incident and hasn’t been seen since.
Not that I blame him.
The victims of that fire probably still couldn’t believe their bad fortune. I mean, just hours before they lost most if not all of their belongings, they were having noche buena with their loved ones and opening presents. They probably even discussed what to do with their leftovers. But just like that, their lives changed, all because Aguanta was allegedly having a bad day.
So I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t welcome him with open arms if they ever saw him again.
If I were in Aguanta’s shoes, I’d avoid anyone from Duljo-Fatima for the rest of my life. But that might be impossible, especially with a warrant out for my arrest. Because it will come to that, won’t it, if he doesn’t face the arson charges that Cebu City Fire Marshal Chief Insp. Noel Nelson Ababon’s office plans to file against him before the prosecutor’s office?
“We’ve already given him enough time, but he was a no-show. He can explain himself in court,” Ababon said, referring to the time when the Bureau of Fire Protection 7 invited Aguanta and four other witnesses for an interview last Dec. 27.
Perhaps, if authorities could locate Aguanta’s wife, she might be able to clear her husband. That, or she could shed light on their “social problems” that led to the tragedy that also killed two persons, including a 12-year-old boy.
Meanwhile, residents of Duljo-Fatima are now probably wary of neighbors who are having an altercation with family members.