By LITO RULONA
Correspondent
AUTHORITIES yesterday blamed the sale of bootleg fuel for a fire that destroyed a house in Sitio Paglaum, Barangay Camaman-an here yesterday morning.
“Wala gyud kini sila’y permit nga mamaligya. Nagpadangat nako og information ngadto sa mga mamaligyaay nga mo-undang na,” said Camaman-an barangay chairman Pedro Arda of the two-story house’s owner, Joel Apuz Sr..
Apuz denied that was engaged in the unauthorized sale of fuel, and maintained that his stocks were for his use only. He said he owns a public utility vehicle.
“Akong gibutang akong gasoline kilid sa among CR (toilet) pero gidakop man sa kalayo. Naay naghaling sa gawas,” he said.
Apuz said the fire quickly spread.
Fire investigators however found a note placed outside Apuz’s sari-sari store with this notice: “Gasolina here P33 per liter.”
Neighbors said they tried to help in putting out the fire but to no avail. “Among sabyagan sa tubig modako man ang kalayo.”
Arda said the barangay has disallowed the retail of petroleum products because of the dangers it posed.
He said the barangay council would meet and discuss the imposition of stiff penalties against erring residents.
Authorities said they would continue the investigation into the Camaman-an fire before its decides to press charges or not.
FO2 Joel Ejoc said the two-story house owned by Japuz was located in a thickly populated slum, and a firewall prevented it from spreading to adjacent houses.
It took firemen to 20 minutes to put the situation under control and declare a “fire-out.” The structural damages were placed at some P80 thousand.
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