CA upholds QC exec dismissal over tragic hotel fire in 2001

The Court of Appeals has denied the petition filed by an official of the Quezon City Hall questioning the Ombudsman's order dismissing him from service after he was found administratively liable for the fire that gutted Manor Hotel on August 18, 2001, killing 74 people. In a 17-page decision penned by Associate Justice Marlene Gonzales-Sison released Thursday, the CA 15th Division upheld the June 17, 2003 resolution of the Ombudsman dismissing petitioner Romeo Montallana from service as chief of the electrical division and forfeiting all the benefits due him upon his retirement after finding him guilty of gross negligence. The CA said that the findings of the Ombudsman are supported by "overwhelming evidence" to support its conclusion of Montallana's liability. "This Court finds no reason to disagree with its findings more so condone or close its eyes to the transgressions of duty on the part of the petitioner which could have been avoided with the exercise of requisite care and diligence," the CA said. "While we commiserate with petitioner for his long years of government service, his defenses do not negate his administrative liability. Instead it is indicative of a conscious design to delegate the vital task incumbent upon him as engineer whose appointment to such position is by reason of his academic preparation and work experience suitable to the management of the electrical division of the government of Quezon City," the CA added. The CA affirmed the findings of the investigating panel of the Ombudsman showing that Montallana's division failed to conduct electrical inspection from 1995 to 2001. The investigating panel also declared that the electrical division does not have a copy of the approved electrical plans and specifications of the Manor Hotel as required under the Building Code. It held that although the general rule is that the negligence of the subordinate cannot be ascribed to his superior, there are instances that the superior officer is likewise at fault in the performance of his duty. "The immunity of public officers from liability for the non-feasance, negligence or omissions of duty of their official subordinates and even for the latter's malfeasance or positive wrong rests upon obvious considerations of public policy and the necessities of the public service," the CA noted. Last February, the CA also affirmed the dismissal of Quezon City Engineer Alfredo Macapugay after he was found administratively liable for the Manor Hotel fire. A decision penned by Associate Justice Rodrigo Cosico of the CA's Sixth Division found that the Ombudsman was able to sufficiently prove the administrative liability of Macapugay over the tragic fire. The CA noted that as a city engineer and building official of Quezon City, Macapugay was vested with powers and duties such as enforcement of the provisions of the National Building Code. The FFIB's investigation showed that when the fire struck the hotel, it was operating without a business permit and that the electrical division of the city government did not conduct an annual inspection of the building's electrical systems from 1995-2000. It also noted that the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) did not conduct an annual inspection of the hotel from 1992-1999; the Manor hotel was issued permits from 1992-2001 without completing requirements; and the Quezon City Fire Station failed to enforce compliance based on a report submitted by the BFP in 2000. - GMANews.TV