Sara: No final report yet on NCCC Mall fire

TWO months after fire gutted NCCC Mall in Maa, Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio said she has yet to receive a report on the results of the final investigation made by an inter-agency task force.

“Not yet, I continue to make follow up, because I need to see the things that the city government needs to do in order to prevent another incident like that. It’s beyond our control because it is already under the task force created by the national government which until now have not released their report on the fire incident,” she said in an interview after the boodle fight she led to give thanks to City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro).

The city mayor said she will not object should the mall owner build another building in the area; this after she was informed that the Office of the City Building Official (OCBO) approved the demolition order for the building.

“(The construction of a new building) is a decision by the owners of the property, I do not know who the owners of the property are but it will depend on their plan. What is important in that they will be compliant to our building code and the rules and regulations of the city government,” she said.

The city mayor said they will also coordinate with Philippine Economic and Zone Authority (Peza), which suspended SSI and NCCC as company locator and economic zone developer, respectively after the fire.

“We are still waiting for the results, because they are under Peza... and Peza has different set of requirements. We need to reconcile with them because they are the regulating agency, not the city. So I told them (Peza) that it is okay, we will not have any problem as long as they will also inform the city government on their move, because we can help them if there are violations,” she said adding that the city can also impose regulatory powers.

The NCCC fire occured last December 23 claimed the lives of 38 persons, majority of who were call center agents.

Based on initial reports, the fire is caused by an electrical short circuit at the ceiling on the third floor.

Based on previous reports, it is now the call of the owners of NCCC Mall when to start the demoli-

tion of the building after the Office of the Building Official approved the mall managements’ application for a demolition permit on February 20.

The permit requires the mall management to complete the demolition within a period of 30 days from the starting date.

Also based on reports the management of the mall applied for demolition last February 2, and paid the city permit fee worth P187,854.

Ocbo officer-in-charge Cirinia Grace L. Catubig, in a report published by Mindanews, said their office suggested immediate demolition as it might pose some risks and to prevent people from illegally barging into the building to scavenge for scraps.

“The permit stated that the demolition will commence only after the building has been vacated and all utility lines such as electric, gas, telephone and water installations have been disconnected,” she said.