CEBU CITY – A man was killed while 25 houses were razed in a fire deliberately set by a man allegedly high on illegal drugs in Barangay Kasambagan here last Sunday.
The arsonist, Guilermo Canabe Jr., 30, was lynched by angry neighbors after he was allegedly caught setting their house on fire.
Police later arrested the suspect, who owned up to setting their house on fire.
Canabe admitted he was high on drugs when he lighted a hanger and used it to light a butane-filled canister inside their house.
The butane canister exploded and the fire quickly spread to other houses.
Canabe said he was upset at some of his neighbors for accusing him as a police asset.
“I want to ask forgiveness from our neighbors,” said Canabe, who is detained at the Mabolo police station.
The fire broke out at 3:15 p.m. and was contained at 4:40 p.m. Fire out was declared at 9 p.m., said Fire Officer 2 Emerson Arceo.
Barangay Kasambagan Captain Franklyn Ong said the fire displaced 149 families or 529 individuals.
The charred body of a mentally ill man, a certain “Leo,” was recovered in a makeshift cell where he was believed to have been locked up by his relatives.
Ong said the barangay will be placed under a state of calamity so that funds will be released to help the fire victims. (Calvin D. Cordova)
