Residents try to put out a fire in Malabon city, north of Manila, October 21, 2013. The fire razed fifty houses and displaced an estimated 100 residents, local media reported.(MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) — The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division on Thursday found seven former officials of the Quezon City engineer’s office and two private individuals guilty of graft in connection with the deadly fire at the Ozone Disco in 1996, 18 years after the tragedy claimed 162 lives.
They were sentenced to six to 10 years in jail.
Convicted of graft and corrupt practices are:
City Engineer Alfredo Macapugay
Former City Engineer Renato Rivera Jr.
Building Inspector Edgardo Reyes
Chief, Enforcement and Inspection Division, Francisco Itliong
Chief, Processing Division, Feliciano Sagana
Engineer Petronillo De Llamas
Building Inspector Rolando Ma Maid
Private respondents Hermilo Ocampo and Ramon Ng, members of the board of directors and stockholders of Westwood Entertainment Co. Inc. which managed the Ozone disco, were also found guilty of similar charges.
In a decision penned by Associate Justice Ma. Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta, the court said that the officials had been remiss in approving the building permit of the disco bar.
“There can never be a slapdash approval of a building permit and certificate of occupancy. To shrink from this duty will certainly run at risk all safety standards contemplated by the National Building Code,” the decision said.
The Sandiganbayan in 2007 acquitted Macapugay of criminal liability in the same case.
The Sandiganbayan Third Division at that time said the court was unconvinced about the culpability of Macapugay, whose office was mandated at the time of the inferno to ensure the enforcement of building safety regulations.
The Sandiganbayan ruled then that prosecutors failed to prove that Macapugay was guilty of reckless imprudence resulting to multiple homicide and multiple physical injuries for alleged negligence in verifying the safety of the plans and facilities of the Ozone Disco. (MNS)