Roxas to Fortun: Stop misinforming the public

MANILA, Philippines - Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas on Wednesday called on the lawyer of the owner of the condominium unit at Two Serendra where a gas explosion happened last May 31"to stop misinforming the public."

"Please stop misinforming the public. While he  has to defend his client, but please, not at the expense of truth and verifiable facts," Roxas said in a statement, reacting to the pronouncement of lawyer Raymund Fortun, legal counsel of  Marianne Cayton, owner of condo unit where the blast occurred.

At a media forum in Greenhills, San Juan City, Fortun said Roxas virtually acted as a lawyer for Ayala Land Corp., a part owner of Two Serendra condominium in Taguig City, when he came up with the report on the explosion.

Fortun said that it is the responsibility of the building administrator to check all safety features to prevent any accidents from happening.

In the final Serendra blast report, arson investigators found negligence of the building building owner, the tenant, the gas supplier, the contractor and the sub-contractor which made the renovations on the unit.

Roxas said he will forward the report to the Department of Justice to determine the possible legal liabilities of those concerned.

"Attorney Fortun is entitled to his opinion, but he is not entitled to his facts. Obviously, Attorney Fortun has not read the entire report.

"My advice to him is to please do his homework first," Roxas said.

He said the report has already been made public and published on DILG's website.