A partly burned image of the Señor Sto. Niño seen at the fire scene in Barangay Duljo Fatima reflects the Cebuano’s devotion to the Child Jesus. Over 400 houses are destroyed in the fire that hit four sitios of the barangay at dawn of Christmas Day, Dec. 25, 2018. /CDN file photo/ Junjie Mendoza
CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES — The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Cebu City is mulling arson charges against the owner of the house where the Christmas Day fire in Barangay Duljo Fatima allegedly originated.
Cebu City Fire Marshall Noel Ababon said that various witnesses have surfaced to claim that Reneboy Agwanta, the owner of the house where the fire first broke out, was seen dousing his motorcycle with gasoline following a fight with his wife and burning it down, which started the devastating fire.
The fire spread to four sitios (sub-villages), destroyed over 400 houses and displaced more than two thousand residents.
“Gibubuan niya og gasolina iyang motor. Nisilaob kini og maoy nakasugod sa kayo. (He poured gasoline on his motorcyle. He burned it and this started the fire),” said Ababon, quoting witnesses.
The witnesses further revealed that Agwanta took his anger out on his motorcycle following a heated argument with his wife.
The motorcycle reportedly burned through the night on the eve of Christmas and began spreading to the nearby houses in Sitio Buli, where the Agwantas live.
“We have invited him (Agwanta) to the BFP (for questioning) but he has not come. Nevertheless, we have enough witnesses to file a case,” said Ababon, in the earlfy hours of Christmas Day, Dec. 25, 2018.
Agwanta had previously denied the allegation during the initial investigation into the fire.
In an interview with Cebu Daily News after the blaze was put out, Agwanta had claimed the fire started in his neighbor’s house.
However, authorities learned that the house pointed to by Agwanta had been empty for two months prior to the fire, a fact that Agwanta also acknowledged. He said he did not know why a fire would start in an empty house.
The fire razed to the ground 444 houses and rendered homeless more than 2,000 individuals from over 200 families./elb