Toddler burns as ma goes to store

MANILA, Philippines -  A one-year-old boy, left with his five-year-old brother in the house as their mother went to a neighborhood store, died in a fire that left 450 other families homeless in Barangay Culiat, Quezon City Monday.

Joven Ogsamen was the lone fatality in the blaze. Fire Officer 2 Jesse Gealion said the boy’s charred body was found after the fire was put out at around 9:10 p.m. Monday.

Joven’s brother managed to escape, the fire broke out at around 4:30 p.m. and razed 150 homes.

The Quezon City government said it will shoulder Joven’s funeral and burial. The boy, whose remains lie in state in a chapel at Purok Uno, will be buried at the Bagbag Cemetery.

The fire victims opted to stay near the site of their gutted houses, even as secretary to the mayor Tadeo Palma called on them to take advantage of a relocation program offered by the National Housing Authority in Rodriguez, Rizal. – Reinir Padua, Rhodina Villanueva