FIVE siblings, with ages 4 to 12, perished in a fire that broke out in a residential community in Tondo, Manila and raged for about two hours on Monday, August 27.
Arson investigator Senior Inspector Reden Alumno said the children were left inside the padlocked house, where the fire started, while their parents went out to buy food.
One sibling survived by climbing out a window, Alumno said.
Senator Richard Gordon, who is also the Philippine Red Cross chairman, said in a Twitter post that the "fire started when one of the kids played with a lighter,"
"Parents should never leave their children while working. That's why daycare centers are important," he added.
The fire reached 4th alarm before it was declared under control at 11:23 a.m., Gordon said.
Red Cross emergency responders brought the badly burned children to the hospital, where they were declared dead. (Alfonso Padilla/SunStar Philippines)