THIS HOUSE located in Barangay Lawis, Pangangan Island, is among those destroyed by the 7.2-magnitude quake that hit Bohol province. FILE PHOTO
TAGUM CITY, Philippines—Two brothers and a friend who survived the recent earthquake in Bohol moved to Davao Oriental last month in search of a better life. They found death instead.
Twenty-year-old Joseph Tingal, his brother Jubert, 19, and John Agosila, 19, died along with four salesgirls when fire razed a store and gutted two adjacent establishments in the town of Manay in Davao Oriental last Thursday night.
Their desire to find work after difficulties regaining their livelihood in Bohol had brought them to Manay upon the invitation of a relative, Eddie Palomares, who owned a paint store there.
Since November, the Tingal siblings and Agosila had worked as errand boys in the store and had been living in the two-storey building that housed it, along with the four sales ladies.
Like the three young men, the other victims were also charred beyond recognition. They were Emily Diabakid, 19, of Sta. Maria, Manay; Aileen Andoyo, 17, of San Fermin, Manay; Geselie Cabrera, 19, of Boston, Davao Oriental; and Bernadette Budadong, 19, also of Manay.
“They were survivors of the magnitude-7.2 quake in Bohol and had just migrated to Manay to work as storekeepers,” Senior Superintendent Jose Carumba, Davao Oriental police chief, said of the Tingal brothers and Agosila.
Carumba said arson investigators suspect that an overheated power outlet that hosted an extension cord used for cellphone chargers might have been a possible cause of the fire, which started at 11 p.m. and was put out four-and-a-half hours later, destroying the Palomares Paint Store and damaging two other establishments.
“We’re inclined to believe it was due to a short circuit. According to the store owner, the workers were allowed to charge their cellphones on a single outlet on the ground floor, maybe to save on electricity,” said Senior Fire Officer 2 Jessie Guarte, Manay Fire Station investigator.
Guarte told the Inquirer by phone that another theory was that one of the cellphone batteries threw off sparks after getting overcharged.
“One of the victims may have neglected the cellphone being charged until it overheated, sparking the blaze,” he said.
Guarte said Palomares told investigators the fire might have quickly spread because the particular power outlet was near highly inflammable painting materials.
He said the chemicals worsened the fire and it took firefighters over four hours to contain.
The bodies of the three boys were retrieved in a room on the ground floor, while those of the girls were on the second floor, Guarte said.
He said the victims must have been sound asleep when the fire broke out as the bodies were found in their bedrooms.
“They were found in separate rooms and away from possible points of exit, so we believe they were really caught unaware when this tragic incident happened,” he said.
“It’s very sad that some of the victims had fled the aftermath of the quake in Bohol only to die in a fire here,” he added.
The Bureau of Fire Protection estimated the losses at P3 million.