St. Luke's College of Medicine-William H. Quasha Memorial Foundation, Dr. Brigido L. Carandang, and Dr. Alejandro P. Ortigas Vs. Spouses Manuel and Esmeralda Perez and Spouses Eric and Jurisita Quintos G.R. No. 222740. September 28, 2016

St. Luke's College of Medicine-William H. Quasha Memorial Foundation, Dr. Brigido L. Carandang, and Dr. Alejandro P. Ortigas Vs. Spouses Manuel and Esmeralda Perez and Spouses Eric and Jurisita Quintos G.R. No. 222740. September 28, 2016

https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/62391

Perez

Ramos was awakened sometime between 3 o'clock and 3:30 in the morning of
 February 9, 2010 when he heard Murillo shouting from the other side of
the room that there was a fire. Ramos immediately ran to the door which
led to the living room and when he opened the same, he saw thick smoke
coming from the left portion of the living room where there was a glow.
He also felt extreme heat, prompting him to run to the bathroom to get a
 pail of water with which he tried to extinguish the fire. The girls,
who had followed him to the bathroom, stayed behind. When Ramos' attempt
 to put out the fire proved to be futile, he went back to the bathroom
and poured water on the girls in an attempt to alleviate the extreme
heat coming from the fire.

THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT as appearing on The Blotter Book No. 0304-0287,
pages 17 and 18, the two storey Institutional building owned by Local
Government Unit (LGU) Cabiao, Nueva Ecija was partially razed by fire
including all the contents of the second floor that transpired on or
about 090245H February 2010. The estimated cost of damage is two Million
 pesos (P2,000,000.00) more or less.

The building structure of Cabiao Community Center

* The Cabiao Community Clinic/Center is a two-storey concrete building. The ground floor is used as the municipality's lie-in clinic or hospital during day time. The students and in particular the victims use this facility together with the. medical complement of the municipality for their community medical service.
* On the 2nd floor was the office of Dr. LEON DE LEON, Cabiao Municipal Health Officer, adjacent was a storage room for office and medical supplies and documents, the bedrooms for the medical students rendering community service, a dining area, a kitchen, and the living-room. The second floor, it may be said, is virtually dedicated for the board and lodging of the students while on mission. These rooms and areas are separated from each other by wood panels made of plywood including the wall in which the gas stove was located. All the windows at the second floor are also covered by permanent iron grills. There are no fire exits, fire alarms, fire extinguishers, sprinklers, emergency lights.
* The community center is a virtual fire/death trap. During night time, medical students were left alone inside the 2nd floor with the main gate locked from the outside and with no apparent signs of fire alarms, fire sprinklers, fire exit plan, emergency lights, provisions of confining the fire to its source, among others, for the occupants fire safety and protection system. They were on their own at the second floor, without anyone (maid or security guard) to attend to their needs while the ground floors and the adjoining building were uninhabited.

The electrical system of Cabiao Community Clinic;

* The ratio between the capacity of the circuit breaker and the electrical service wire is out of proportion and became electrically insensitive to overload and wire short circuits; thereby negating the very purpose the circuit breaker was designed.
* Six years of use in overload capacity would have worn out the wire and its strength and vitality, hence it will readily overheat, notwithstanding at the time short circuits, only few bulbs were in use.
* At the 2nd floor, visible signs of cut wires were found inside a tube, including the service wire as it pass through going down to the main panel board and several cut wires of the secondary breaker going to the second floor for power distribution.
* The main and secondary panel boards were wrongly situated at the ground floor, above which is the location of a comfort room, where water could easily slip to the panel boards.

The installation of the secondary panel board at the ground floor distributing power to the 2nd floor defeats its purpose, considering that if electrical trouble happens at the 2nd floor one has to go to the 1st floor to shut off the power.

* The installation of the secondary panel board at the ground floor distributing power to the 2nd floor defeats its purpose, considering that if electrical trouble happens at the 2nd floor one has to go to the 1st floor to shut off the power.

The Cabiao Bureau of Fire Protection failed to perform its mandate pursuant to RA 9514.

* However, inasmuch as FO3 ESQUIVEL has bungled the investigation of the fire by removing items from the scene of the fire and his failure to explain the disappearance of other electrical debris, the opening and enlargement of the iron grill where the sole survivor passed, the back door broken, and the non-recording of the investigations, FO3 Esquivel's action and behaviors are highly suspect of a massive cover up of the real cause of the fire.

St. Luke's negligence is criminal in nature.

* As a learning institution, which sends out its students to rural areas to comply with its curriculum requirement, St. Luke's has the duty and responsibility to see to it that the premises to where it sends its students are safe.

The origin of fire

* The Cabiao BFP has manifested its prejudice and bias and thus, cannot be an independent, reliable and credible investigator of this fire incident. They could not even entertain any theory, other than the gas burner, because in doing so would place themselves in jeopardy. They even resorted to tampering of premises by removing all electrical wire debris, thinking that in its absence, fire caused by short circuits cannot be proven.
* It is highly probable that the origin of fire is electrical based on the Electrical Report No. 04-10-001 submitted by Engr. DAVID R. AOANAN, Chief, Electrical Section, NBI because of the following.
* Presence of thick black smoke that indicates heat caused by short-circuit
* Explosion or tripping off of the transformer, then a black out - showing therefore that the circuit breaker did not trip off
* Inspection of the main circuit breaker and the secondary breakers show that these did not trip off
* Presence of short circuited wires located at the 2nd floor, where buddle wires were found
* Presence of numerous spliced wires or jumped wires in three different convenient outlets
* Mainboard panel is mismatched with the service wire
* Other defective wirings

It is a well done theory that the cause of the fire was due to faulty electrical wiring with two reasons to support it, first is the physical manifestation as mentioned by Engr. DAVE AOANAN who conducted evaluation/investigation on what is left on the building of the Cabiao Community Clinic; second is the personal experience of MIGUEL RAFAEL RAMOS y DAVID the lone survivor of the incident [who] narrated what he perceived during last hour before he was rescued. MIGUEL['s] narration contradict the theories laid down by Fire Marshall BABY BOY ESQUIVEL that the fire was by the negligence of the victims [whom] he suspect[s] to have left [burning a] gas stove. MIGUEL'S narration specifically pointed out that the fire was primarily coming from the living room and not at the kitchen which is directly in front of their door way.

## Issues

Hence, the present petition for review on certiorari alleging that the CA committed reversible error when it:
(a) held that the Municipality of Cabiao was not an indispensable party,
(b) disregarded the findings of the BFP that the fire was purely accidental and caused by unattended cooking, and
(c) ruled that petitioners were negligent.

The petitioners were obviously negligent in detailing their students to a virtual fire trap. As found by the NBI, the Clinic was unsafe and was constructed in violation of numerous provisions of the Revised Fire Code of the Philippines. It had no emergency facilities, no fire exits, and had no permits or clearances from the appropriate government offices.

A learning institution should not be allowed to completely relinquish or abdicate security matters in its premises to the security agency it hired. To do so would result to contracting away its inherent obligation to ensure a safe learning environment for its students.

Moreover, as to the stipulation of 24-hour security in the Clinic, petitioners failed to present evidence that this stipulation was actually enforced or that they took measures to ensure that it was enforced. This, once more, shows petitioners' propensity of relying on third parties in carrying out its obligations to its students.

In the case at bar, it was amply shown that petitioners and the victims
were bound by the enrollment contracts, and that petitioners were
negligent in complying with their obligation under the said contracts to
 ensure the safety and security of their students. For this contractual
breach, petitioners should be held liable.

## Decisions

**WHEREFORE**, in view of the foregoing, the Court resolves to **DENY** the petition for review on *certiorari* and **AFFIRM** the Court of Appeals' Decision and Resolution.