DILG consultant eyed in QC arson case yields, denies rap

A former journalist whose rented apartment in Quezon City burned down at dawn Saturday gave himself up to the police yesterday to deny any involvement in the blaze that left six people dead.

Philip Lustre Jr., now a public relations consultant to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), went to the Central Police District (CPD) headquarters accompanied by his father, Philip Sr., a lawyer. He said he wanted to clear his name.

"I’m innocent," Lustre said. "I haven’t done anything wrong and still my reputation is tainted because of this."

Though he surrendered, Lustre was not detained. Senior Superintendent Rodolfo Tor, head of the CPD, said Lustre is not yet considered a suspect in the crime because there are no official statements yet from witnesses. He, however, was pleased with Lustre’s promise to cooperate fully with investigators.

"We cannot detain him because he was not actually arrested and not yet a suspect. He just voluntarily appeared here to air his side," he said.

The apartment being rented by Lustre on No. 54-H Malakas st., Barangay Pinyahan, Quezon City was razed at dawn last Saturday, killing Lustre’s mistress, Violeta Robles, her housemaid Beth, and four others, including two children, who were all Lustre’s relatives.

Firemen said the blaze apparently started in the living room at the ground floor where a liquefied petroleum gas tank was found.

Lustre admitted he was in the apartment Friday night until Saturday at about 3 a.m. to accompany his cousin Veronica Roxas and her four children who had no place to stay for the night.

He met Roxas earlier that night and even introduced her to Interior and Local Government Secretary Joey Lina at a dinner in Intramu-ros, Manila. Roxas is being hunted by the Antipolo police for being an alleged accomplice in the murder of a Korean businessman earlier this year.

"How could I kill my own cousin who I am even trying to help?" Lustre asked.

People residing near the burned apartment said they see Lustre visiting twice a week, sometimes close to midnight or early morning. They said they often heard the journalist and his mistress arguing about different things. The night before the fire, they again heard the two argue.

"She (Robles) was demanding to know what my cousin and her children are doing in the apartment," Lustre said. "I was too tired to explain. It had been a long day for me."

Lustre said he went home without any inkling that a tragedy would befall him. He said he only learned of the fire at about 11 a.m. of Saturday while he was teaching a journalism class at the Lyceum of the Philippines in Manila.

He said he still doesn’t know what remained of the apartment. "I didn’t go to the place yet because I’m afraid the neighbors would kill me," he said. "Their houses were affected, too."