Blue ribbon committee papers safe, says Sotto after fire hits Senate building
Senate President Vicente Sotto III assured the public that all pertinent documents, including those of the blue ribbon committee, which is investigating the flood control project controversy, “remain intact, safe and completely unaffected” after a fire broke out on Sunday at the Senate building in Pasay City.
“[T]he Senate is working closely with the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and internal security to ensure the continued safety of the premises and personnel and to prevent similar incidents moving forward,” Sotto said in a statement.
The fire broke out on the third floor of the Senate building around 6:30 a.m., specifically in the office of the Legislative Technical Affairs Bureau Director Jim Ricohermoso, according to Sotto.
He said the blaze occurred far from the blue ribbon committee office, which is also on the same floor.
The fire reached the second alarm, prompting the deployment of fire trucks from Pasay and nearby cities. BFP personnel declared it under control at 7:43 a.m., and by 8:20 a.m., it was put out without any reported injuries or fatalities.
According to Sotto, authorities are currently determining the cause of the fire and assessing the extent of the damage.
Water in session hall
“Water used in the suppression efforts resulted in leakage into the session hall [on the second floor], originating from the affected floor. The Senate’s maintenance team is working round the clock to dry and restore the session hall to ensure it is fully ready for Monday’s session,” he said.
Senate Secretary Renato Bantug confirmed the fire was confined to the Legislative Technical Affairs Bureau, which usually handles sessions, rules and technical questions on procedures, among other matters.
“And another thing, we have what we call file or data redundancy. The blue ribbon documents, we all know that these are being distributed to its members. All of those files have what we call digital (copies). They are being scanned,” Bantug added.
“We’ll make our assessment and then we’ll make a recommendation to the leadership of the Senate regarding tomorrow’s session which is scheduled at 1 p.m. And then, of course, as a matter of [standard operating procedure], we also need to check, I suppose, with the BFP and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) the structural integrity of the building,” Bantug said.
The Senate building is owned by the GSIS.
