Probe on DPWH fire underway

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Simeon Datumanong has ordered an investigation of last Sunday’s fire that killed two DPWH officials.

Reports said important documents belonging to the defunct Mount Pinatubo Commission (MPC), some of whose officials and men have pending graft cases, were burned.

It turned out that the Rural Infrastructure Fund (RIF) building which was totally razed in the hour-long blaze, housed the MPC files. The commission became mired in controversies in the mid-90s over allegations of corruption.

But the investigation order of Datumanong was prompted by reports that fire extinguishers used by security guards to contain the fire were found to be empty.

Datumanong said the fatalities, engineer Marcos Leo Dacara and architect Marion Monge were cousins. He said that Monge was in charge of maintaining the gutted building while Dacara was a DPWH-Bicol engineer. – Jose Aravilla