Three children died in separate fires in Manila and Las Piñas City, including a half-blind boy who was killed while reportedly tied to a bed by his parents for being unruly.
Police on Thursday said they may file criminal charges against the parents of Angelo Malbas, 7, who died in the 11:20 p.m. fire that razed two houses on Guadalupe Street, Fatima Subdivision in Barangay (village) Zapote, Las Piñas, on Wednesday.
City police chief Senior Superintendent Romulo Sapitula said investigators learned from Malbas’ 6-year-old brother that the victim was unable to escape the blaze because he had been tied to a bed earlier that night by his mother, Analou Satur, and her live-in partner, Bernardo Okomen.
Sapitula also said that according to the victim’s aunt, Malbas was usually bound with a plastic cord by his parents whenever he misbehaved. Angelo was Satur’s child from an earlier marriage, the officer added.
“If our investigation finds that the fire was intentional or the child was intentionally left behind, we may file a murder case against the stepfather and a parricide case against the mother,” Sapitula said, noting that the fire started from the couple’s house.
Satur and Okomen denied the allegations, saying they panicked and failed to get Malbas out of the burning house in time.
The second floor of the house had collapsed by the time the fire was declared out around 1 a.m. the following day. The boy’s body was found on the first floor.
In Manila, a fire at Baseco Compound, Port Area, also killed two minors identified as Raymond Claudar, 7, and his sister Roselyn, 4.
Fire Officer 3 Oliver Sison said the blaze broke out in the Claudars’ house on Block 15-A around 1:30 a.m. and raged for about 30 minutes before barangay (village) volunteers had it under control.
The children were left in the house by their parents and older brother who sold garlic in the Divisoria market, Sison said.—With a report from Erika Sauler