THE Supreme Court has affirmed the dismissal of the criminal and administrative charges filed against Valenzuela City Mayor Rexlon Gatchalian and two other city officials in connection with the tragic fire inside the Kentex footwear factory that claimed 74 lives and injured several others on May 13, 2015.
In a 24-page decision penned by Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda, the Court’s First Division affirmed the ruling issued by the Court of Appeals (CA) on November 28, 2016, which ordered the dismissal of the administrative cases for grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty against Gatchalian.
Likewise, the SC upheld the Sandiganbayan’s decision issued in December 2016 which dismissed the criminal complaints for violation of Section 3 (e) and G of R.A. No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and multiple physical injuries under Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code.
“In fine, the Court is convinced that the Sandiganbayan correctly dismissed the cases for lack of probable cause and the CA correctly granted Mayor Gatchalian’s petition,” the SC ruled.
The rulings of the Court of Appeals and the Sandiganbayan were appealed before the SC by the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Office of the Special Prosecutor, respectively.
Earlier, Gatchalian was found administratively liable by the Ombudsman after it was established by the Inter-Agency Anti-Arson Task Force that Kentex was issued with business permit on January 15, 2014 despite the lack of Fire Safety Inspection Certificate (FSIC).
On the other hand, named as Gatchalian’s co-respondents in the criminal complaint filed before the Sandiganbayan were Eduardo Carreon, who recommended the issuance of the business permit for Kentex in 2015 despite the lack of FSIC and lawyer Renchi Padayao, who signed the permit as officer-in-charge of the Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO), for Gatchalian.
In affirming the dismissal of the administrative complaint against Gatchalian, the SC said it would appear that the mayor “had no hand in the issuance of the permits of Kentex” and all other businesses during the time relevant to the case, since this duty has already been delegated to the BPLO.
It noted that Carreon recommended the approval of the permits while Padayao approved the same for Gatchalian.
“The Court holds that no substantial evidence exists to support the assailed joint resolution of the Ombudsman,” the SC pointed out.
In issuing business permits to Kentex, the SC said the City Government of Valenzuela merely followed the procedure laid down in Joint Memorandum Circular No. 1, Ordinance No. 62 and other administrative issuances of the Bureau of Fire Protection and the DILG.
The said circular encourages local government units (LGU) to reduce the steps and processing time for business permits, and allows LGUs to issue “temporary permits” that give applicants a period of time (usually 2 to 3 months after issuance of the permit) to comply with the other requirements such as the FSIC.
This streamlined procedure allowed the submission of the FSIC within a reasonable time after a business permit had been issued.
If no FSIC is submitted, the business permit is then revoked.
In appealing the Sandiganbayan’s decision dismissing the criminal complaint against Gatchalian, Carreon and Padayao, the special prosecutor argued that FSIC is an indispensable requirement under the Fire Code, which cannot be dispensed with on the basis of Ordinance No. 62, and other issuances.
However, the SC said: “There is no direct causal connection between the issuance of the business permit and the fire which resulted [in] the death and injury of the victims.”
It noted the proximate cause of the fire which resulted to the death and injury of the victims was the stockpiling of 400 sacks or ten tons of supercell blowing agent known as Azodicarbonamide, in an area not intended for such storage and adjacent to the welding activities near the stockpile.