DESPITE being hit by fire, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) office at the North Reclamation Area (NRA), Cebu City will be business as usual Monday, October 28, 2019.
This was the promise of LTFRB-Central Visayas Director Eduardo Montealto Jr.
The blaze destroyed several offices on the second floor, including the ones occupied by Montealto and his assistant director.
A portion of Montealto’s secretary’s office was damaged. Only the hearing room was not hit by the blaze.
The fire, which was noticed past midnight Sunday, October 27, also destroyed documents, including those that needed Montealto’s signature.
But Montealto assured that the LTFRB-Central Visayas has electronic files of franchise applicants.
Montealto said they might not start on time Monday, but he said the agency would continue to serve its clients.
The ground floor was spared by the fire. However, several documents and computer units got wet.
Montealto said he will ask the officials of the Land Transportation Office-Central Visayas on N. Bacalso Ave. to spare a temporary space for the LTFRB personnel.
If this would not push through, he might request for a space inside a mall near the LTFRB office.
An electrical short circuit might have started the fire, according to the initial investigation by the Cebu City Fire Department (CCFD).
Montealto brushed aside speculations that the office was intentionally set afire. The LTFRB 7 is renting a space in JKing Building at the NRA.
SFO2 Hermes Molina, investigator, said the CCFD received the fire alarm at 12:18 a.m.
Ariel Jusayan, a guard assigned at the building, said he called the Bureau of Fire Protection after noticing the flames coming out from the second floor’s windows.
Investigation revealed that the fire originated in the office of Montealto, said Molina.
The fire, Molina said, might had been triggered by a device left unplugged. The damage to property was pegged at P150,000.
The firefighters had the fire under control by around 1 a.m. (From HBT, BBT of Superbalita Cebu/KAL)