The fire that razed to the ground 700 houses at two neighboring barangays in Bacoor City on the night of November 1 was caused by igniting electrical wires in one of the houses, fire investigators ruled on Tuesday, debunking suspicion of arson.
In a news release posted at the official Facebook page, the Bacoor City Government, quoting the Bureau of Fire Protection-Bacoor led by Chief Inspector Genalyn Cabasal, reported that the fire’s origin was traced to the house of one Julio H. Talay of Barangay Alima. The reason: electrical ignition due to loose connection.
The fire immediately engulfed the house. The fire broke out while Talay was nowhere in the house. The blaze quick spread to nearby houses that reached Barangay Sineguelasan.
Around 400 families lost their homes due to the fire that started around 10 p.m. on November 1.
The fire injured two persons, namely, Bernard A. dela Cruz, 25 years old, and Kevin Modesto, 27 years old.
Cabasal herself submitted the Progress Investigation Report to the Bacoor local government during a meeting attended by Mayor Lani Mercado-Revilla last November 9, finally putting closure to the case.
Days after the fire, groups opposing the 420-hectare land-reclamation project being pushed by Bacoor City in Manila Bay aired suspicion that the fire was intentional to pave the way for the clearing of would-be affected residents in eight coastal barangays of Bacoor City.
Known as the birthplace of mussel farming in the Philippines, Bacoor’s proposed land-reclamation project aims to expand the city’s territory for the development of its own central business district that will rival the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.
But the project will affect around 700 families whose livelihood are dependent on the bounty of Manila Bay, one of Luzon’s rich fishing and aquaculture hub.
Currently, those who lost their homes are staying at public elementary schools turned to evacuation centers.
Mercado vowed to give financial aid amounting to P10,000 for each family who lost their homes.