Gatchalian, 6 Valenzuela officials, Kentex owner face graft charges

FOR THEIR “acts or omissions,” Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian, six other city officials and the owner of Kentex Manufacturing Corp. now face multiple criminal cases in connection with the May 13 fire in the footwear factory that killed 74 people, mostly workers, and injured several others.

In a statement on Tuesday, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said that she had ordered Gatchalian, et al. charged in the Sandiganbayan with graft and reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide and physical injuries.

His coaccused were Kentex owner Ong King Guan, alias Terence King Ong; Valenzuela City fire marshal Mel Jose Lagan, Senior Insp. Edgrover Oculam, and Fire Safety Inspectors Rolando Avendan and Ramon Maderazo of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and officer in charge Renchi May Padayao and licensing officer Eduardo Carreon of the Valenzuela City government’s Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO).

“The respondents’ acts or omissions, taken together, indicate a common understanding among them to turn a blind eye to Kentex’s delinquency and its foreseeable consequences,” Morales said.

According to her, Ong, the factory owner, “cannot evade criminal liability for the loss of lives as the safety of all persons and all operations within the premises rested upon his shoulders.”

Reached for comment by the Inquirer, Gatchalian said on Tuesday that the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued recently by the Court of Appeals on the Ombudsman’s dismissal order against him also covered the criminal case.

GATCHALIAN

He and six other city officials were ordered dismissed from the service on Feb. 17 after Morales found them administratively liable for the factory fire. The appellate court, however, granted his petition for a TRO on March 4.

As for the criminal case against Gatchalian and his coaccused, Morales also found them liable for the death of the factory workers because Kentex was issued business permits and fire safety inspection certificates (FSIC) despite “blatant violations of the fire code.”

According to the Ombudsman, its investigation showed that the company failed to install a wet standpipe system, had unserviceable extinguishers, lacked automatic fire alarm and sprinkler systems, and did not conduct fire exit drills for its workers.

The Ombudsman also cited the affidavits of survivors who pointed to locked or padlocked exit gates at the factory, windows enclosed with grills and the lack of water sprinklers, fire extinguishers or fire alarms.

“In 2014, Kentex was inspected by BFP (Valenzuela) twice, and on both occasions, its fire safety measures were declared deficient,” it said.

Despite its findings, however, the city government allowed Kentex to continue operations, the Ombudsman added.

For his part, Gatchalian earlier defended the issuance of a provisional business permit to Kentex, saying that should the city government stop this practice, several establishments would close down, causing “irreparable damage to our economy and massive unemployment.” With a report from Jodee A. Agoncillo