MANILA, Philippines – Fire officials Tuesday placed at P26 million the damage caused by a fire that hit a commercial building in Sta. Cruz, Manila, at dawn Monday.

It took nearly 22 hours before firemen were able to put out the blaze at the Good Earth Plaza building that started at 5:30 a.m. the other day.

The fire, which was finally extinguished at 3 a.m. Tuesday, destroyed several stores inside the building, including Robinsons Supermarket and several stalls selling electronic items and jewelry.

Insp. Myra Bico, chief of the arson investigation division of the Manila Fire Department, said the P26 million was only a “rough estimate” since they had not yet completed their inspection of the establishment

Only the ground floor and basement of the eight-story building were damaged in the fire.

Thick smoke and intermittent rains made it difficult for firemen to battle the blaze. It also didn’t help that most of the stalls inside the building were closed.

“We only went to the areas that were positive for smoke. We couldn’t just destroy all the locks because the owners might not like it,” Bico said.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined. The incident disrupted the operations of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 that suspended its southbound operations because of the thick smoke that enveloped its Carriedo Station.