(Update) QC engineer in Ozone Disco fire acquitted

(Updated 5:39 p.m.) The Sandiganbayan Third Division has acquitted a former Quezon City engineer of any criminal liability over the deadly Ozone Disco blaze which killed 162 people, mostly teenagers, more than a decade ago. In a 24-page decision dated August 16, magistrates said they were unconvinced about the culpability of Alfredo Macapugay, whose office was mandated at the time of the inferno to ensure the enforcement of building safety regulations. The ruling also effectively junks damage claims filed by the victims' families and relatives against Macapugay. The Sandiganbayan ruled that prosecutors failed to prove that Macapugay was guilty of reckless imprudence resulting to multiple homicide and multiple physical injuries for alleged negligence in verifying the safety of the plans and facilities of the Ozone Disco. "To convict someone who apparently had no hand in the issuance of the subject building permits is anathema to the concept of justice," the Sandiganbayan said. It added that, "And while a verdict of guilt does not require absolute certainty, it is necessary that … the prosecution's evidence in its totality should produce moral certainty of the accused’s culpability in the Court’s unprejudiced mind. The prosecution has failed in this regard." The Ozone Disco had no alarm systems, emergency lights, sprinkler systems or proper fire exits. It was built in 1991 and renovated a year later. The March 18, 1996 incident remains one of the Philippines' deadliest fires in more than half a century. The Sandiganbayan said that based on documents presented, Assistant City Engineer Benjamin Malinao was the local official who approved Ozone Disco's permits and clearances. Macapugay's delegation of duties and functions to Malinao, prosecutors had insisted, was illegal and as such the city engineer should be held liable. However, the graft court was not convinced. "In fact, the prosecution never questioned Malinao’s qualification as civil engineer or his competence as such," the decision read. - GMANews.TV