Friday, August 12, 2022
manilastandard.net
ADVERTISEMENT
  • About
  • News
    • Top Stories
    • National
    • World News
    • Pinoy Abroad
    • Features
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Columns
    • Soundbytes
  • LGUs
    • NCR
    • Luzon
    • Visayas
    • Mindanao
  • Business
    • Corporate
    • Economy & Trade
    • Stocks
    • Money
    • Agri & Mining
    • Power & Tech
    • IT & Telecom
  • Sports
    • Basketball
    • Volleyball
    • Fightsports
    • Active
    • Sports Plus
    • One Championship
    • Columns
  • Entertainment
    • TV & Movies
    • Celebrity Profiles
    • Music & Concerts
    • Digital Media
    • Columns
  • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Culture & Media
    • Fashion
    • Health and Home
    • Leisure
    • Shopping
    • Columns
  • Others
    • Pets
    • Pop.Life
      • Newsmakers
      • Hangouts
      • A-Pop
      • Post Its
      • Performances
      • Malls & Bazaars
      • Hobbies & Collections
    • Technology
      • Gadgets
      • Computers
      • Business
      • Tech Plus
    • MS ON THE ROAD
      • Sedan
      • SUV
      • Truck
      • Bike
      • Accessories
      • Motoring Plus
      • Commuter’s Corner
    • Home & Design
      • Residential
      • Commercial
      • Construction
      • Interior
    • Spotlight
    • Gallery
      • Photos
      • Videos
    • Events
      • Seminars
      • Exhibits
      • Community
    • Biyahero
      • Travel Features
      • Travel Reels
      • Travel Logs
  • Advertise with Us
No Result
View All Result
  • About
  • News
    • Top Stories
    • National
    • World News
    • Pinoy Abroad
    • Features
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Columns
    • Soundbytes
  • LGUs
    • NCR
    • Luzon
    • Visayas
    • Mindanao
  • Business
    • Corporate
    • Economy & Trade
    • Stocks
    • Money
    • Agri & Mining
    • Power & Tech
    • IT & Telecom
  • Sports
    • Basketball
    • Volleyball
    • Fightsports
    • Active
    • Sports Plus
    • One Championship
    • Columns
  • Entertainment
    • TV & Movies
    • Celebrity Profiles
    • Music & Concerts
    • Digital Media
    • Columns
  • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Culture & Media
    • Fashion
    • Health and Home
    • Leisure
    • Shopping
    • Columns
  • Others
    • Pets
    • Pop.Life
      • Newsmakers
      • Hangouts
      • A-Pop
      • Post Its
      • Performances
      • Malls & Bazaars
      • Hobbies & Collections
    • Technology
      • Gadgets
      • Computers
      • Business
      • Tech Plus
    • MS ON THE ROAD
      • Sedan
      • SUV
      • Truck
      • Bike
      • Accessories
      • Motoring Plus
      • Commuter’s Corner
    • Home & Design
      • Residential
      • Commercial
      • Construction
      • Interior
    • Spotlight
    • Gallery
      • Photos
      • Videos
    • Events
      • Seminars
      • Exhibits
      • Community
    • Biyahero
      • Travel Features
      • Travel Reels
      • Travel Logs
  • Advertise with Us
No Result
View All Result
manilastandard.net
No Result
View All Result
Home News Headlines

36 bodies retrieved in mall fire; govt probe set

Rey E. RequejobyRey E. Requejo
December 26, 2017, 12:14 am
in Headlines
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
73
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Email

DAVAO CITY—The Justice Department ordered a criminal investigation Monday into a shopping mall fire that killed 37 people, including call center staff from an American firm.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre announced the inquiry as firemen prepared to enter what remained of the New City Commercial Center mall in the Davao City, where they retrieved the bodies of 36 who perished in Saturday’s blaze. One body was recovered earlier in a fourth floor comfort room.

The fire compounded the Christmas misery in the south, where tens of thousands were also displaced by floods and landslides from a storm that also killed more than 200 others on Friday.

“The loss of lives and the resulting damage… underscore the need to determine if someone is at fault and should be held criminally liable,” Aguirre said in a statement.

“By punishing those responsible, we can set an example to others so that, hopefully, there will be no repetition of those tragedies,” he added.

ADVERTISEMENT

Deadly blazes occur regularly, particularly in slum areas where there are virtually no fire safety standards.

Local authorities on Sunday said no-one trapped in the fire would have survived.

The Davao fire marshal had on Sunday described the shopping mall as “an enclosed space with no ventilation,” though the authorities said they had yet to determine the cause of the blaze.

The building’s administrators on Sunday denied allegations from survivors that there were inadequate emergency fire exits and that some of them were locked.

“There is no truth to that allegation. In fact as per accounts of those who got out, they were able get out through the fire exit,” Thea Padua, the mall’s public relations officer, said.

Some relatives of those missing criticized rescuers for what they felt was the slow pace of recovery efforts. 

“They seem so relaxed,” said Jolita Basalan, weeping as she waited for news of her missing 29-year-old son Jonas who worked at the call center.

“They are not pained because they don’t have a child there. They told us to come here but no one is moving,” she said.

But authorities said that firemen needed to inspect the structural integrity of the burnt-out building before venturing inside its gutted remains.

Aguirre said he has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a parallel investigation into the fire to determine possible criminal liabilities in the mall fire.

  “We want the NBI to be involved with its own probe. Their findings will enable us to make those responsible fully accountable before our courts via the criminal cases that will be filed,” Aguirre said  in a statement.

Initial reports said the blaze started at the four-story mall at around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Built in 2003 by the Lim family, the NCCC Mall is one of the city’s bigger establishments.

SSI offered its condolences to the families of the victims and said it would help support funeral arrangements.

“It is with deep sadness that we confirm that 37 Research Now SSI employees were lost in the fire that struck the NCCC mall in Davao City, Philippines, where the company employs 500 in its local call center operation,” the company said.

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III on Monday asked the Bureau of Fire Protection to investigate thoroughly the cause of the blaze that killed 37 people inside the mall.

“I want to know why they were trapped, and if there is anything we could have done to avoid this. I look forward to the report of BFP and see if we need to update our fire safety regulations to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel, a party-mate of former Davao City mayor and now President Rodrigo Duterte, also extended his condolences to the families of the victims trapped at the New City Commercial Center, one of the biggest malls in the city, 

On Saturday night, President Duterte visited the mall and talked to relatives of the 37 people trapped inside.

The Davao fire was second only to the 2015 blaze at the Kentex footwear factory in Valenzuela City that killed 42 workers. The blaze at Kentex, which started when sparks from a welder repairing a metal gate ignited nearby chemicals, highlighted the unsafe working conditions for many workers.

Survivors of that blaze blamed barred windows and other sweatshop conditions for trapping people inside the factory.

In the deadliest fire in in recent times, 162 people were killed in a huge blaze that gutted the Ozone disco in 1996. With F. Pearl Gajunera and AFP

 

Joel E. Zurbano

Tags: call center staffDavao CityJustice departmentkilled 37 peopleshopping mall fireVitaliano Aguirre
ADVERTISEMENT
Rey E. Requejo

Rey E. Requejo

Related Posts

Paolo Duterte quits as Davao vice mayor

byF. Pearl A. Gajunera
December 26, 2017, 12:15 am
0
132
Paolo Duterte quits as Davao vice mayor

DAVAO CITY—The President’s son, Paolo Duterte, resigned Monday as vice mayor of Davao City after a series of scandals hounded...

Read more

China: Islands ‘reasonably’ expanded

byJohn Paolo Bencito
December 26, 2017, 12:12 am
0
130

CHINA admitted expanding its islands in the disputed South China Sea, with continued construction in the challenged islands covering about...

Read more

28 killed in two road accidents on xmas

byFrancisco Tuyay
December 26, 2017, 12:10 am
0
130

TWENTY-EIGHT people were killed and dozens more were injured in two separate road accidents in La Union and Cotabato provinces,...

Read more

Palace claims crime down, cites no proof

byJohn Paolo Bencito
December 26, 2017, 12:10 am
0
130

MALACAñANG on Monday claimed that  the bloody war against drugs, a campaign President Rodrigo Duterte launched since he took office...

Read more

P2b in aid for victims

byLance Baconguis
February 13, 2017, 12:01 am
0
131
P2b in aid for victims

SURIGAO CITY—President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday promised to release P2 billion in relief for victims of the powerful Feb. 10...

Read more

Surigao quake kills at least 6

byAFP
February 11, 2017, 1:10 pm
0
131

(Magnitude 6.7 earthquake hits Surigao City at 10:03 pm Friday. Photo courtesy of Philippine Information Agency-Caraga)  Rescuers dug through rubble...

Read more

Stories you may like

  • Zubiri new Senate President, vows to uphold chamber’s independence

    Marcos sees stronger PH-India relations

    5755 shares
    Share 2302 Tweet 1439
  • Showbiz icon Cherie Gil dies at 59

    2622 shares
    Share 1049 Tweet 656
  • Fuel rollback next week, power rate cut in August

    1230 shares
    Share 492 Tweet 308
  • Judgments and their execution

    1006 shares
    Share 402 Tweet 252
  • Appeal to BBM and Acuzar

    903 shares
    Share 361 Tweet 226

Print Edition

View More

Recent Posts

  • US attorney general says ‘personally approved’ Trump home search
  • US envoy to travel to Gulf to strengthen Yemen truce
  • EV maker Rivian’s losses nearly triple to $1.7 bn as production ramps up
  • Sneakers for Makati : AB4.0
  • Sugar import order probed
  • Marcos tells DTI to ensure cheap fertilizers for farmers
  • Another oil price rollback likely as world economy further stalls
  • LTFRB looks at ‘balanced’ higher bus rates

Advertisement

Latest News

Marcos tells DTI to ensure cheap fertilizers for farmers

byManila Standard
August 12, 2022, 1:20 am
0
216
Sy siblings, Villar, Razon top 2022 Forbes rich list

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has met with Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual to set out...

Read more

Another oil price rollback likely as world economy further stalls

byAlena Mae S. Flores
August 12, 2022, 1:15 am
0
323
Marcos, Duterte capture voters’ imagination, says Pulse Asia exec

Oil prices will likely go down effective Tuesday next week by as much as P2.85 per liter due to the...

Read more

LTFRB looks at ‘balanced’ higher bus rates

byRio N. Araja
August 12, 2022, 1:10 am
0
220
DTI to issue new price guide for school items

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board is keen on approving a petition to increase the fares for public utility...

Read more

NTC questions ABS-TV5 joint venture

byManila Standard
August 12, 2022, 1:05 am
0
312

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is set to review the deal that would allow ABS-CBN to broadcast its programs on...

Read more

SC sets new ruling on copyrighted music

byRey E. Requejo
August 12, 2022, 1:00 am
0
220
Omicron now dominant virus variant in US

The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that the act of playing radio broadcasts with copyrighted music using loudspeakers (radio-over-loudspeakers) without...

Read more

Advertisement

ADVERTISEMENT
Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube

ABOUT US

Manila Standard

Manila Standard website (manilastandard.net), launched in August 2002, extends the newspaper’s reach beyond its traditional readers and makes its brand of Philippine news and opinion available to a much wider and geographically diverse readership here and overseas.

Digital Edition

In tone and content, the online edition mirrors the editorial thrust of the newspaper. While hewing to the traditional precepts of fairness and objectivity, MS believes the news of the day need not be staid, overly long or dry. Stories are succinct, readable and written in a lively style that has become a hallmark of the newspaper.

Download – Today’s Paper

Search

No Result
View All Result

6th Floor Universal Re Bldg., 106 Paseo De Roxas cor. Perea Street, Legaspi Village, 1226 Makati City Philippines

Trunklines: 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558

© 2021 Manila Standard - Designed and Developed by Neitiviti Studios.

No Result
View All Result
  • About
  • News
    • Top Stories
    • National
    • World News
    • Pinoy Abroad
    • Features
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Columns
    • Soundbytes
  • LGUs
    • NCR
    • Luzon
    • Visayas
    • Mindanao
  • Business
    • Corporate
    • Economy & Trade
    • Stocks
    • Money
    • Agri & Mining
    • Power & Tech
    • IT & Telecom
  • Sports
    • Basketball
    • Volleyball
    • Fightsports
    • Active
    • Sports Plus
    • One Championship
    • Columns
  • Entertainment
    • TV & Movies
    • Celebrity Profiles
    • Music & Concerts
    • Digital Media
    • Columns
  • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Culture & Media
    • Fashion
    • Health and Home
    • Leisure
    • Shopping
    • Columns
  • Pop.Life
    • Newsmakers
    • Hangouts
    • A-Pop
    • Post Its
    • Performances
    • Malls & Bazaars
    • Hobbies & Collections
  • Technology
    • Gadgets
    • Computers
    • Business
    • Tech Plus
  • MS ON THE ROAD
    • Sedan
    • SUV
    • Truck
    • Bike
    • Accessories
    • Motoring Plus
    • Commuter’s Corner
  • Home & Design
    • Residential
    • Commercial
    • Construction
    • Interior
  • Spotlight
  • Gallery
    • Photos
    • Videos
  • Events
    • Seminars
    • Exhibits
    • Community
  • Biyahero
    • Travel Features
    • Travel Reels
    • Travel Logs
  • Pets
  • Advertise with Us

© 2021 Manila Standard - Designed and Developed by Neitiviti Studios.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Install Manila Standard Web App

Install App