Unsafe bldg. stalls probe into CPA fire

The National Bureau of Investigation is having a hard time coming up with an inventory of the items destroyed by the fire that hit Cebu Ports Authority warehouse last month because of the unsafe condition of the building.

NBI regional director Medardo Delemos said investigators cannot conduct the inventory unless the warehouse is totally collapsed. He added that it is unsafe to conduct inventory for now because debris might fall while investigators are inside the building.

He explained they need heavy equipment to clear the warehouse of the debris before an inventory could be conducted, he also admitted that the inventory is delaying the investigation of the case.

The NBI has already asked the CPA and Bureau of Customs district collector Lourdes Mangaoang for the equipment it needed in its investigation, which Mangaoang had requested amidst suspicions that the fire was a case of arson.

The NBI has coordinated with other agencies to look for documents that might be helpful in its investigation. It has asked the Insurance Corporation to find out if the items inside the warehouse were insured.

The NBI has also coordinated with the Securities and Exchange Commission to know the incorporators of the Starlite Cargo, where the fire allegedly started. It also sought possession of the logbooks of the BOC to know the passage of the goods before and during the fire.

An estimated P200 million worth of imported goods, including 22 vehicles, were reduced to ashes when a fire swept through the CPA warehouse at the Cebu International Port last July 27. - Fred P. Languido