Zamboanga City gov’t suspends firecracker distributor permit after blast

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Mayor John Dalipe suspended the business permit of Jonathan “Jojie” Chua, operator of the Next Step Fireworks Shoppe, whose stockpile of fireworks exploded on Saturday, killing five people and hurting 38 others.

Chua had secured a sole proprietorship in selling, dealing, and distributing all types of pyrotechnics in this city.

He also owned the old firecracker shop at Veterans Street here that caught fire and left two people dead on April 9, 2013.

Dalipe stated that he ordered the suspension of Chua’s business permit pending the results of the ongoing probe on the explosion at 4:14 p.m. on Saturday inside a warehouse at Marquez Drive in Barangay Tetuan.

The mayor said Chua owned the shop but not the warehouse that exploded. The bodies of couple Rolly Limen, 38, and his wife Mirriam, 37, caretakers of the warehouse, along with their 3-year-old son Arden, were recovered from the rubble of the explosion.

Those of Junelyn Ramos, storekeeper of Next Steps Fireworks Shoppe, and Erikka Lacastesantos, 18, an events worker for the Chua family, were  found in the compound after the firemen declared fire out at 6:40 p.m. Chua was earlier reported to be among the wounded.

Firecracker ban

District Fire Marshall Christopher Morales recommended a total ban on firecrackers, fireworks, and other pyrotechnics in the city to prevent another similar incident. But such a ban would have to be covered by a new ordinance as fireworks for entertainment and celebratory purposes were allowed, subject to terms and conditions.

Dalipe was also expected to issue an executive order mandating the City Engineer’s Office, the police, and barangay officials to inspect all warehouses and storage facilities in the city.

Colonel Kimberly Molitas, the city police director, said the ground zero of the explosion remained close to civilians due to the ongoing clearing operations.

She said they found several boxes of pyrotechnics onsite. Although these boxes had been drenched, they had to be retrieved and brought to Barangay Muti for proper disposal.

“People cannot yet return to the area unless everything is cleared, as a safety and precaution,” Molitas said, adding they received 37 more complaints mostly claiming damages from the warehouse owner.

Appeals for help

City officials distributed food packs to 40 families living within the periphery of the fireworks blast site.

Aside from food packs from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the city government will release P10,000 to five families whose loved ones died in the incident, according to Maria Socorro Rojas, the city social welfare officer.

But there was no official word yet as to who would shoulder the hospitalization of the 38 persons wounded in the blast and were still confined in four different hospitals here.

The bereaved families of Limen, Ramos, and Lacastesantos are appealing for help with funeral expenses.

Manelyn Gregorio, sister of Mirriam Gregorio Limen, said the family could not afford burial services for her sister, her husband, and their son. The couple, who died in the blast, left three children aged 18, 15, and 2.  The family lives in Shanty town in Barangay Lumbangan.

Nerissa Ramos, a domestic worker abroad and mother of Jonalyn, also pleaded for help to be allowed to visit and mourn for her daughter. Ramos has been working in Saudi Arabia for five months now and all she could afford was a one-way plane trip to Manila.  She said her daughter, a nursing student, had been working part-time as a storekeeper for the Chuas before the blast.