BACOLOD CITY – A 58-year-old janitor is facing arson charges for the blaze that gutted the house of Mayor Renato Gustilo and his family’s ancestral home in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental on June 14.
READ: https://mb.com.ph/2024/6/16/fire-destroys-san-carlos-city-mayor-s-ancestral-home
THE aftermath of a blaze that gutted the house of Mayor Renato Gustilo and his ancestral home in Barangay 5, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental on Friday, June 14. (Photo courtesy of San Carlos City Fire Station)
Police Lt. Col. Nazer Canja, San Carlos police chief, said the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)-San Carlos filed a criminal complaint before the City Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday, June 19, after the suspect executed an extrajudicial confession.
Canja said the suspect voluntarily surrendered to authorities on June 15, a day after the fire happened.
The fire originated from a stockroom of an iconic Chinese school, Daisy's ABC School, founded by the Chinese-Filipino Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and spread to the houses of Gustilo and his family in Barangay 5.
Fire Officer 3 Joseph Earl Solivio, chief arson investigator of the San Carlos City Fire Station, said damage to property in the blaze was placed at P20 million.
Based on their investigation, Solivio said the janitor allegedly poured gasoline in the stockroom of the school and set it on fire.
The suspect said that he committed the offense as he felt bad when he was terminated after three months of working in the school.
The mayor said that according to the janitor, he surrendered after he felt guilty upon learning that the houses of the Gustilo family were also affected in the blaze.
Gustilo was in Manila when he learned of the incident.
Despite the admission of the janitor, Solivio said they will continue to investigate the incident to determine other factors that may help them establish the cause of the fire.