The National Bureau of Investigation said it was not ruling out the possibility of arson in the fire that hit the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bureau of Research Standards building in Quezon City on Wednesday.
“We do not rule out any possibility until the investigation is complete,” NBI Director Jaime Santiago said when asked if the fire may have been deliberately set.
“We understand why people may find the timing of this incident unusual. That is precisely why we will look into all angles,” he added.
Santiago said based on the initial findings of the Bureau of Fire Protection, an “octopus” electrical connection may have caused the blaze.
The NBI chief said all DPWH personnel working on the third floor will be asked to give statements regarding the incident.
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon, for his part, said the initial findings of the BFP “corrects the initial information that there was a computer unit that exploded.”
Dizon assured the public the fire did not affect any records linked to the corruption probe, noting that all flood control documents have been transferred to and are protected at the DPWH Central Office.
“Right now, we have gotten all [documents] from 2022 to 2025, and we are now receiving earlier years. They are now all here in the Central Office, protected,” Dizon said.
“We did not see any critical documents which may be vital in the ongoing investigation (affected by the fire). And all of them are backed by scanned copies,” he added.
DPWH Undersecretary for Convergence Projects and Technical Services Lara Esquibil said the materials affected by the blaze included manuals, field testing reports, procurement reports, and training-related documents specific to the BRS operations.
