Late-night fire hits heritage structures in Iloilo City

Firefighters work to put out the flames in one of the buildings on J.M. Basa Street, Iloilo City’s downtown heritage area. The blaze started Friday evening (March 15, 2024) and ended Saturday morning. Photo from MORE Power Facebook page (note: photo grabbed with consent from More Power)

ILOILO CITY — A nearly nine-hour fire gutted two structures within the Cultural Heritage Tourism Zone in downtown Iloilo City.

Reports from the city’s Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) office showed that the Divinagracia and Celso Ledesma buildings on J.M. Basa Street were destroyed in a fire that started at the Chinatown block along Iznart Street at 11:46 p.m. on Friday, March 15, and extinguished at 8:25 a.m. on Saturday.

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas told reporters on Saturday morning that the two buildings were considered heritage buildings dating back to the American and post-World War II periods, and are likewise part of the city’s Cultural Tourism Heritage Zone under Republic Act No. 10555.

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The mayor has instructed the city government’s Office of the Building Official (OBO) to inspect electrical connections along the downtown’s heritage area.

“The OBO shall immediately conduct inspections on the electrical connections of all heritage buildings at the Downtown area. These are the jewels of Iloilo City which are part of our heritage,” he said in a statement.

He added that he will also seek help from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines to help preserve the heritage structures.