A report reaching the provincial police headquarters said that an electrical short circuit started the fire inside the machine room that lasted for 10 minutes. Three crewmembers suffered minor burns while trying to contain the blaze.
Presidential security officials supervising the repair reportedly withheld information from the media following Malacañang’s directive. Navy spokesman Capt. Geronimo Malabanan, however, ruled out sabotage in the incident.
He issued the clarification to douse speculations that the fire could be insurgency related. — Arnell Ozaeta, Jaime Laude