The Court of Appeals (CA) has reversed the ruling of the Office of the Ombudsman on the dismissal from the service of Valenzuela City Mayor Rexlon Gatchalian in 2016 for grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty in the 2015 Kentex fire that killed 74 persons.
In reversing the Ombudsman, the CA ruled that the duty to enforce the Fire Code belongs to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and not with the local government unit (LGU).
“Mayor Gatchalian complied with his mandated duty under the law. Any finding of negligence on his part, would be in effect imposing upon him a duty that it is not provided by law,” the CA ruled in a decision written by Associate Justice Leoncia Real-Dimagiba.
“The procedure provided by the administrative issuances imposes the BFP in Valenzuela City the duty to inspect and determine compliance with the Fire Code. He (Mayor Gatchalian) merely relies on the report of the BFP,” the CA said.
Aside from the administrative charges, the 2016 resolution of the Ombudsman ordered the filing of criminal charges against Mayor Gatchalian and two city officials for graft and reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicides and multiple physical injuries before the Sandiganbayan.
But the Sandiganbayan ordered the dismissal of the criminal charges against Gatchalian, Renchi May Padayao, officer in charge of the Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO), and Eduardo Yco Carreon, licensing officer IV of the BPLO.
In absolving them of criminal liability, the Sandiganbayan ruled that they could not be faulted for granting a business permit to Kentex because a city ordinance allows the grant of the business permit even without a Fire Safety Inspection Certificate (FSIC).
Gatchalian elevated the issue of his dismissal before the CA.
The CA said that while it is true that Valenzuela City, under Mayor Gatchalian and the BLPO officials, issues business permits for the operation of the business establishments within the city, such issuance can be considered provisional as its effectiveness depends on the results of the inspection by BFP-Valenzula to determine compliance with the Fire Code.
Thus, it said, there was no proof that Mayor Gatchalian neglected his duty.
The CA also said that while BFP-Valenzuela issued a notice to comply to Kentex in 2014, it failed to furnish copy of the notice to BPLO and BFP.
Thus, when Gatchalian issued a business permit to Kentex in January 2015, he and the NPLO officials had no notice of the violations or non-compliance of Kentex with the Fire Code in 2014. (Rey Panaligan)