Valenzuela carnival faces closure

It came a little too late.

Valenzuela City officials were scheduled to serve a  closure order on  the carnival which had been operating illegally for three days, a day after a freak accident involving a ride in the facility—the caterpillar coaster—killed a man and injured nine others.

“That’s very unfortunate from our end. In good faith, we trusted them (the operator of the carnival). We thought they would get the necessary permit,” said Ana Mejia, city public information officer of the Valenzuela  City government.

The carnival ran by Three Angels Amusement had been operating since Nov. 5 without a  license from  City Hall.

Mejia said the the Business Processing and Licensing Office (BPLO) knew about this and had issued several notices warning the carnival would be closed if it did not comply with the requirement.

Three Angels had complied with the city government’s requirements last year and ran their business legally, according to their records.

Violations

Police yesterday formally charged Delia Montero, 52, the alleged caretaker of the carnival, the machine operator identified only as “Machete” and two minors with reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and physical injuries.

Niel Rafols, 41, was killed instantly on Wednesday after the coach he was riding in broke loose and veered away from the    track.

After he fell, Rafols  was run over by the speeding coaster. Nine others were injured in the accident.

“We will not tolerate the situation. Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian ordered the BPLO not to grant applications for permits of any carnival operator,” Mejia said.

Gatchalian ordered the closure of the carnival on Thursday morning.

Defects

Mejia said the city’s engineering department found obvious defects in the kiddie coaster. “Only nails were used to keep the seats in place in the coaches,” she said.

Authorities have been searching for one  Arnel Cudia, reportedly the owner of the carnival, since Thursday.

But Chief Insp. Realito Esperida, Valenzuela deputy police chief, said  they have no proof that Cudia was indeed the owner.

Signatory

Montero was the person in charge of the firm’s  daily operations, and  was the signatory in all its documents, Esperida said

She is now detained at the city police headquarters while the two minors who were working as helpers in the carnival had been turned over to the city’s  social welfare and development office.

The machine operator who, according to television reports, was drunk when the accident took place, remains  at large and is the object of a police search.