Fire engulfs the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB-7) office at the North Reclamation Area in Cebu City at 12:10 a.m. of Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019. |CDND Photo/Raul Tabanao
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB-7) will have to stop operations temporarily after an hour-long fire engulfed its two-floor office at the North Reclamation Area in Cebu City pre-dawn on Sunday, October 27, 2019..
In a phone interview with CDN Digital, LTFRB-7 Director Eduardo Montealto Jr., said that there were papers that needed signing in his office and permits that needed to be reviewed that were destroyed by the fire.
The city’s Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) received the fire alarm at 12:18 a.m. and put it out at 1:16 a.m. The BFP was still determining what caused the fire and the extent of the damage.
Read more: Fire damaged LTFRB-7 office in Cebu City
Montealto said they have electronic copies can easily be retrieved and so the applicants for public transport franchises will not have to worry about their standing applications.
However, he said they will have to find a temporary office, delaying operations for a still unforeseeable time.
Fire engulfs the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB-7) office at the North Reclamation Area in Cebu City at 12:10 a.m. of Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019. |CDND Photo/Raul Tabanao
Initially, Montealto was worried of the cars parked outside the building, but the Bureau of Fire Protection assured that the 12 LTFRB-7 cars were not affected by the fire.
Montealto is currently in Bicol Region for an official engagement. He said he will be coming home to Cebu as soon as possible.
“Mangita lang sa mig opisina ani. Mahunong kadyot ang operation pero balik ra mi dayon (We have to look for a temporary office. Our operation will have to be suspended but we will resume as soon as we can),” he told CDN Digital. /elb