Couple faces arson for Dumaguete blaze

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – A criminal complaint for destructive arson was filed by the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) on Thursday against a couple following the big blaze that hit a residential area at Barangay Calindagan, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental last Wednesday.

Senior Fire Officer 3 (SFO3) Edwin Nazareno, BFP’s chief of operations, said the charges were filed before the City Prosecutor’s Office yesterday afternoon against Rogen Monceda and partner Luisa Mateo.

Both are detained at Dumaguete City Police Station.

Nazareno said they have gathered testimonies from some witnesses identifying them as responsible for the fire that razed almost 60 houses.

Based on the statements of witnesses, the fire started from the couple’s house.

Nazareno said that the witnesses claimed that the couple set their two-storey house to fire in the middle of an argument.

“They would usually attempt to burn their house when they argue,” he said, based on the statements of some of their neighbors. And this time natuloy talaga,” he added.

The fire immediately spread to other houses made of light materials. The couple was arrested in a nearby store after the fire.

Despite the strong testimonies of the witnesses, the couple denied the accusations against them, Nazareno said.

He also said that they cannot tell if the couple was influenced by drugs or was drunk when they burned down their house.

He said the BFP is still waiting for the final assessment of the barangay officials as to the number of affected households.

The estimated cost of damage was pegged at P300,000.