Siblings making rags die in Rizal fire

SAN PEDRO CITY – Two children died in a fire that razed their house in Tanay town in Rizal province, police said Saturday.

The victims were identified as Gil, 7, and his sister Glenda, 4, both surnamed Lorena.

Tanay police chief Supt. Carlito Canlas said in a phone interview that the children were left alone in their house made from light materials, in Barangay (village) Plaza Aldea, when the fire broke out around 9 p.m. Friday.

According to neighbors, the children’s father went somewhere to drink while the mother was in a neighbor’s house to watch television, he said.

The house, he added, did not have electricity.

Quoting initial investigation from the Fire Bureau, Canlas said the fire started from a gas lamp that the children had used while they were making rags. He said the children sold the rags for money.

It was not immediately clear what the children’s parents did for a living.

The police said another neighbor noticed the house burning and it was only after the firefighters came that authorities discovered the children’s bodies inside.

“We are still investigating the parents about what really happened as this case could be referred to the MSWD (Municipal Social Welfare and Development),” Canlas said.