Ex-QC officials, Manor Hotel operators appeal graft conviction

Former Quezon City officials and owner-operators of the razed Manor Hotel have appealed their conviction at the Sandiganbayan due to the supposed failure of the prosecution in proving their guilt in the fire which claimed the lives of 74 people in 2001.

Former city engineer Alfredo Macapugay, former electrical division acting chief Romeo Montallana, and private individuals William and Rebecca Genato, Marion Fernandez, Candelaria Aranador and Antonio Beltran filed separate motions for reconsideration before the Seventh Division.

The Sandiganbayan had found Macapugay and Montallana guilty for three counts of graft, while the accused owner-operators were convicted for two counts. They all face a prison sentence of six to 10 years "for each count."

The Sandiganbayan ruled the QC officials ignored the report of the city fire marshal stating the risks of the continued operation of the hotel.

The said report stated Manor Hotel lacked a business permit and was due for closure in 1999 for violations of the National Fire Code and the National Building Code.

However, Macapugay said the Sandiganbayan erred on its finding that he failed to conduct annual fire safety inspections at Manor Hotel for years 1999, 2000 and 2001.

Macapugay said he should also not be held liable for failing to implement the closure order against the hotel because he never received a memorandum from the Bureau of Fire Protection nor from the office of then-City Fire Marshall Carlito Romero.

"If a department head or a superior officer cannot be held civilly liable for the malfeasance, misfeasance and non-feasance of his subordinates, with more reason that the former cannot be held criminally liable... Herein accused never received any adverse report against manor hotel before the fire," he said.

Macapugay pointed to the hotel owner-operators as the sole persons liable to the crime when they had many occupants that led to an electrical overload which caused the fire, as testified by Engr. David Aoanan of the National Bureau of Investigation.

For his part, Montallana said he relied on the orders of his superior for the conduct of safety inspections. He also said there was merely "no record" of the inspections, thus his conviction was based on "mere inferences and assumptions."

"He could not be blamed for the supposed lack of inspection as he should be following the orders of his superior. Accordingly, he should not be considered as guilty of impartiality, bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence," Montallana said in his appeal.

The owner-operators, meanwhile, said the prosecution lacked proof they conspired with the QC officials so they can continue the operation of Manor Hotel.

They said no evidence showed Macapugay and Montallana cannot be considered negligent of their duties since they had no prior knowledge of Manor Hotel's violation of the Fire Code and Building.

"Indeed, for a conspiracy charge to prosper, it is important to show that the accused had prior knowledge of the criminal design, otherwise, the accused's alleged participation cannot be determined to be in furtherance of such criminal design," they said.

"All told, without a clear and convincing proof of a patent and conscious criminal design linking accused public officials to the accused private individuals, accused private individuals must be acquitted even though their innocence may be doubted," they added. —LDF, GMA News