INVESTIGATION on the fire that razed a mall and took 38 lives continues, and to this day, investigators still has not determined the cause of the fire.
"We are still in the process of the investigation. Hanggang ngayon wala pa rin makapagsabi kung saan nagmula yung sunog. Palaging sinasabi sa third floor, pero wala naman makapagsabi kung saan nga ba sa third floor (Until now no one can pinpoint where the fire really started. They always said it started at the third floor, but no one can say where particularly in the third floor),” said National Bureau of Investigation-Southern Mindanao Regional Office (NBI-Semro) director lawyer Mario Francisco Tonelete.
The NBI is cooperating with the Inter-agency Anti-Arson Task Force tasked to investigate the fire.
Tonelete said the bureau is doing its best to determine whether the fire incident is a case of arson or a mere electrical short-circuit problem. Inter-agency Anti-Arson Task Force is a body earlier formed to investigate the fire incident to point who could be held liable for the damages. As of the moment, the body is collecting all evidences needed to solve the case.
Fire Senior Superintendent Jerry Candido, spokesperson of the Inter-Agency Anti-Arson Task Force, earlier bared the relief of five of the eight BFP personnel who issued the Fire Safety Inspection Certificate (FSIC) to the mall.
Candido said the list may still grow depending on the result of the ongoing investigation and the evidences they can gather.