BALANGA CITY – Fire allegedly caused by electrical short circuit burned the first floor of the Land Registration Authority office in Balanga City a few minutes before midnight of Tuesday.
Lawyer Amante Cappuccino, chief of the Bataan registry of deeds, placed the damage left by the blaze at P1 million. Totally burned were 12 sets of computers, documents involving registration, titles and chattel mortgages, the lawyer said. The ceiling, window panes in the first of the two-storey building were destroyed by the fire.
Left intact, although with shades of the heat of the fire, was the statue of the Virgin Mary. Cappuccino said their Information Technology provider told them that it would take three to five days before they could resume operation on land registration and titling. He has asked the setting up of tents in front of their office where temporary transactions can be held by 21 RD employees.
“Karamihan naman ng records ay nakalagay na sa computer data base at may back-up files kaya wala namang masyadong problema kaya lang kailangan pa rin ng court order para sa mga owner’s copy ng mga titulong nasunog,” the RD chief said.
Security Guard on duty Oscar Fortes said the building was locked and he was on guard outside. He said he saw thick smoke coming out of the rear portion of the building and immediately called the Bureau of Fire Protection.
“Hindi nagtagal ay nakita kong mapulang-mapula na apoy sa loob,” the security guard said. Fire Officer 3 Dan Papa said they immediately responded after receiving information on the fire at 11:32 p.m.
He said two fi retrucks from Balanga City came and at 11:45 of the same evening, a fire out was declared and prevented from affecting other buildings. Near the RD are buildings of the Bataan Cooperative Bank and the Bataan Press Club Multi-Purpose Cooperative.
