BFP declares ‘fire out’ at Plaza Cervantes, Binondo

MANILA, Philippines – After 22 hours, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) finally declared the fire at Plaza Cervantes, Binondo, Manila, out at 10:38 pm on Monday, May 28.  

BFP spokesperson Superintendent Joan Villajo, however, said they have yet to determine the cause of the fire, which affected 4 buildings in the Chinatown area. 

The fire, which started at 12:36 am on Monday at the Land Management Bureau building, spread to the 150 Plaza Cervantes building, the Moraga Mansion, and lastly to the Juan Luna building, which houses the National Archives of the Philippines.

Chief Senior Inspector Reden Alumno, BFP Manila arson chief, said the circumstances of the fire make it “suspicious” – it started past midnight, after the weekend, and with 4 guards on duty. 

“Arsonists usually operate during these hours,” he said. 

Tons of land titles and some P100 million worth of equipment at the LMB were destroyed. Offices of accounting and law firms and insurance agencies in the two other buildings also lost documents to the fire.

Meanwhile, Jocelyn Reyes, NAP’s OIC deputy executive director, said all important documents and computers in their office were saved, and that no archival documents were stored in the Juan Luna building.

Authorities have yet to come up with an estimate of the damage.

No one was badly hurt from the fire, except for two firefighters who suffered hand lacerations, and one firefighter who had difficulty in breathing. – Rappler.com