MANILA – The Department of Justice on Tuesday ordered an investigation into Sunday’s fire at the Waterfront Manila Pavillon Hotel and Casino in Ermita district in Manila, which killed five people, all hotel employees.
DOJ’s Department Order Number 160 tasked the National Bureau of Investigation to handle the probe.
Part of the probers’ task is to determine if any party can be held accountable for criminal, civil or administrative culpability for any lapses that led to the fire and the subsequent failure to rescue those who perished.
Some initial angles that probers had been looking into was whether the fire was accidentally lit in the area where a massive renovation work was being done on the hotel, built in the seventies and which has since undergone various changes in ownership and name.
At the height of the fire that broke out just before 10 a.m. last Sunday, at least 20 people were trapped in higher floors as fire fighters sought to contain the blaze between the mezzanine and the third floor, including the casino area.
Among those trapped at the roofdeck of the burning hotel were fire fighters themselves, requiring their rescue by their colleagues.
The deadly fire, of still unknown origin, killed five people and injured six.
