THE Justice department has invalidated a legal opinion issued by former Justice secretary Leila de Lima favoring the transfer of the authority to regulate fire security in the casinos to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority from the Bureau of Fire Protection.
That opinion later led to the transfer of the authority to the Peza from the BFP.
On Wednesday, however, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II returned to the BFP the jurisdiction over fire security at the casinos following the deaths of 37 casino guests and employees of Resorts World Manila in a fire set by gunman Jesse Carlos.
De Lima, now a senator, is being held in Camp Crame over drug-trafficking charges.
Aguirre said Peza had no authority to enforce Republic Act 9514 or the Revised Fire Code of the Philippines.
“It is clear that while the Peza may adopt the Fire Code of the Philippines and its implementing Rules and Regulations, it cannot by itself enforce the same within the boundaries of the ecozones as earlier explained,” Aguirre says in a legal opinion.
“Thus, it cannot conduct fire safety inspection on enterprises duly registered with it as well as those within the zones, [and] nor can it issue Fire Safety Inspection Certificates.”
Aguirre said Republic Act 7916 or the Peza Law allowed the agency to establish internal security and firefighting forces, but it could not supersede the authority of the BFP under R.A. 9514.
Earlier, Aguirre said De Lima’s opinion led to the transfer of the jurisdiction on fire safety regulation in the casinos from the BFP to the Peza, “a government agency without competence and experience in fire protection.”
He said that could be one of the reasons for the lapses seen in the fire safety measures in Resorts World Manila.
A total of 37 employees and clients of the casino died of suffocation and smoke inhalation as they failed to leave the building that was set on fire by Carlos, a gambler who set fire and then shot himself after setting the casino tables on fire.
