BFP prepares arson case vs 16-year-old Pampanga boy

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The Bureau of Fire Protection is filing a complaint for arson against a 16-year-old boy who started a fire in a house in Barangay Saguin here on Saturday.

Supt. Emmanuel Arrozal,  Pampanga fire marshal, said a closed circuit television (CCTV) footage showed the boy setting the house on fire by burning a sofa.

The boy is held at the city jail extension beside the BFP station in Barangay Telabastagan here. The complaint, Arrozal said, would be filed in the provincial prosecutor’s office Sunday.

A report from the provincial police said the boy entered the house of Erlina Sarmiento in Florida Residences at about 4 p.m. Saturday. The fire was put put 30 minutes later.

Arrozal said they have yet to establish what prompted the boy to enter Sarmiento’s house and burn it.

The BFP prepared a complaint against the boy, despite his being a minor, because the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 (Republic Act No. 9344) exempts only children 15 years old or under from criminal liability.