Fire hits municipal trial court in Cebu

A fire hit the Municipal Trial Court of Minglanilla, Cebu on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. Photo from Paul Lauro/Cebu Daily News

MANILA, Philippines — A fire hit the Municipal Trial Court of Minglanilla, Cebu on Tuesday and authorities are looking into a case of arson, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said.

The agency said firefighters responded to the scene at 12 noon, and the first alarm was eventually raised at 12:03 p.m.

Fire Officer 1 MJ Provida, of BFP Region VII Minglanilla, told INQUIRER.net over the phone that the fire reached its third alarm at 12:20 p.m.

She added that the incident was declared “fire out” at 12:55 p.m.

Meanwhile, citing Glen Antigua, the head of the Minglanilla Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, Paul Lauro of Cebu Daily News said Judge Wilson Ibones suffered burns from the fire.

READ: Commercial building partially damaged in Minglanilla fire

The judge was officiating a wedding when the fire struck, Lauro said. He added that the couple had burns too.

In a Facebook post, Minglanilla Mayor Rajiv Enad said that arson is what happened in the courthouse.

READ: Boy saves sleeping mom, sister from burning house in Minglanilla, Cebu

Along with their Municipal Trial Court, Enad said their Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office was also destroyed, while several other offices were damaged and “could no longer be used pending assessment.”

The mayor added that 11 people were injured in the incident, including the judge.