Boy dies after father burns house

ILOILO CITY, Philippines  – An eight-year-old boy died after his father allegedly set their house on fire in  Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo shortly after midnight Saturday.

Jay Adagan died while being treated at the Western Visayas Medical Center in this city, said Senior Police Officer 4 Glenn Azucena, town police deputy chief.

Reports said Jay and his siblings were asleep at their home in Barangay Cabilawan when their father Wenceslao, 48, arrived.

Wenceslao, who was drunk, reportedly kicked a kerosene lamp, causing a nearby sack of clothes to catch fire.

Azucena said one of Jay’s sisters managed to wake up their two other siblings and escape, leaving the victim in the burning house made of light materials.

The children sought neighbors’ help.

A relative brought Jay to the hospital, where he died hours later.

One of the children told police that their father burned their house on purpose. Wenceslao denied the allegations, saying he accidentally tripped on the lamp.

Reports said the children were living with their father while their mother works as a househelp in this city.

Wenceslao reportedly did not approve of his wife’s decision to leave them to work.