📷: City of San Jose del Monte Public Information Office

CITY OF SAN JOSE DEL MONTE, Bulacan —
The Office of the City Building Official of San Jose del Monte has recommended that other structures of the St. Peter the Apostle Parish Church in this city be inspected for its structural integrity.

It can be recalled that a portion of the church’s balcony collapsed on Ash Wednesday causing injuries to 56 churchgoers with one later dying in a hospital.

As these developed, the Office of the City Building Officials of San Jose del Monte conducted an inspection on the accident site.

Based on the report of Pavel Halog, of the said office released by the city Public Information Office to ARKIPELAGO NEWS BULACAN, the collapsed wooden mezzanine floor approximately four meter wide, three meters long and  three meters high ”was evidently infested by termites aggravated by the weight of people occupying  the mezzanine floor, causing its collapsed.“

Halog also requested  Jack Miguel, chairman of the Committee in Temporal Goods and Maintenance of the parish church to conduct and check with city building officials other structural components of the church, that is approximately three decades old, such as the church roofing and trusses.

Meanwhile, seven of the 56 victims in the collapsed balcony of the St. Peter the Apostle Parish Church in this city on Ash Wednesday are still confined in different hospitals in the city as of 1:00 pm on Thursday (February 15).

Based on the Situation Report No. 6 released by the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office of San Jose del Monte that was released by the Public Information Office of the city, four of the victims identified as Lolita Dimalaluan, 82 years old, Nely Abad, 70 years old,  Mila Galos, 57 years old and Mercy Gasapan 44 years old are still confined at the Skyline Hospital.

Rolly Cabigting, 64 years old is still confined at the Grace Hospital, Christopher Lintojua, 49 years years old at the Qualimed Hospital and Maurice Jade Guiterrez, the youngest at 15 years old still admitted at the Brigino General Hospital.

One fatality was reported in the accident, Luneta Morales, who succumbed to cardiac arrest caused by blunt trauma.

A total of 47 injured victims were rushed to different hospitals and clinic in the city and eight were brought to Tala Hospital in Caloocan City.

City Mayor Arthur Robes has announced that the city government will shoulder the medical treatments of the victims including the funeral services of the fatality.