QC hotel owner sends surrender feelers

The owner of tragedy-stricken Manor Hotel in Kamias, Quezon City has sent surrender feelers even as the police readied charges of multiple homicide against him for the death of some 70 guests in a fire that swept through the building early Saturday morning.

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said friends of William Genato, 55, have contacted him, saying the hotel owner was willing to turn himself in and face the charges arising from the worst hotel fire to hit the country in decades.

Belmonte assured the families and other relatives of the victims that those responsible for the tragedy will be punished. "Let me assure the relatives that justice will be served to them," he said.

Officials said the budget hotel did not have safety facilities such as fire escapes, emergency exits, automatic water sprinklers, heat detectors and a fire alarm system. They also said the windows which were barred with iron grills contributed to the high number of fatalities in the pre-dawn blaze.

Belmonte also clarified that only 70 people, not 75 as reported earlier, perished in the fire, mostly due to suffocation from the thick smoke that engulfed the hotel. "Our official records showed that only 62 died in the hotel and eight in the hospital," he said.

Most of the victims were participants in a three-day Christian Crusade sponsored by the Texas-based Don Clowers Ministries.

Tragedy struck before the so-called "Destiny Conference" was held on Saturday.

Most of the survivors said they stayed close to the grilled windows where firemen doused them with water to cool them down. The bodies of several fatalities were found huddled in the bathrooms where they apparently hid in a vain attempt to evade the killer smoke.

So far, 58 of the corpses have been claimed by relatives, leaving only 12 which were brought to the Dayao funeral parlor in Quezon City.

Belmonte recommended the creation of a fact-finding committee, headed by a retired Supreme Court justice, "to conduct an impartial, transparent and no-nonsense investigation" of the incident.

"We want this fact-finding (body) to be headed by a retired Supreme Court justice to clear the cloud of doubt in the mind of the public," Belmonte said.

Meanwhile, arson investigators were given until late yesterday to wrap up their mission.

Investigators said earlier faulty electrical wiring might have caused the fire, which quickly sent thick black smoke into passageways and overcame the victims who were trapped inside their rooms with iron-grilled windows and balconies.

Scores of guests trapped inside their rooms were seen crying and begging for help.

Senior Superintendent Romeo Villafuerte, chief of the task force created to conduct the probe, said city engineers and license officials who issued pertinent documents to the Manor management might be asked to shed light on alleged briberies to cover up violations of fire safety and building laws.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr. gave the task force 48 hours to complete its investigation, as Belmonte vowed to "get to the bottom" of the incident to pinpoint culpability.

Belmonte said it was logical to conclude that corrupt City Hall officials connived with the hotel management.

"Actually, it would appear that Manor has been continuously violating all sorts of rules and nobody has been doing anything about it," the mayor added.

He revealed he has ordered the city engineer’s office sealed off to prevent tampering of documents there.

"I hope that heads will roll," Belmonte stressed.

Genato reportedly went into hiding following the blaze, prompting the authorities to order a manhunt for him.

Senate Majority Leader Loren Legarda urged authorities to "spare no effort in bringing to swift justice" the culprits in the fire.

In a statement, Legarda said the Department of the Interior and Local Government should quickly punish the fire and building safety officials responsible for the tragedy. "Blood is in their hands because of their gross negligence in enforcing the building and fire safety regulations...for allowing this disaster to happen."