Zamboanga City mayor revokes license to distribute fireworks

By: Julie Alipala @InqNational – 4 hours ago

Last Monday, July 1, 2024, a meeting was held at the Zamboanga City Hall with representatives of the various agencies and offices concerned to discuss the explosion at Chua’s warehouse. | PHOTO: Official Facebook page of the Zamboanga City Government

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Mayor John Dalipe has suspended the business license of Jonathan “Jojie” Chua, operator of Next Step Fireworks Shoppe, whose fireworks stash exploded on Saturday, killing five people and injuring 38 others.

Chua had secured a sole proprietorship in this city for the sale, trade and distribution of all kinds of pyrotechnics.

He also owned the old fireworks store on Veterans Street, which caught fire on April 9, 2013, killing two people.

Dalipe said he ordered the suspension of Chua’s business license pending the results of the ongoing investigation into the 4:14 p.m. explosion at a warehouse along Marquez Drive in Barangay Tetuan on Saturday.

The mayor said Chua owned the store, but not the warehouse that exploded. The bodies of Rolly Limen, 38, and his wife Mirriam, 37, who managed the warehouse, and their three-year-old son Arden, were recovered from the rubble of the explosion.

The bodies of Junelyn Ramos, owner of Next Steps Fireworks Shoppe, and Erikka Lacastesantos, 18, an event staff member of the Chua family, were found at the premises after firefighters declared the fire extinguished at 6:40 p.m. Chua was previously among the injured.

Ban on firecrackers

District Fire Chief Christopher Morales recommended a complete ban on firecrackers, fireworks and other pyrotechnics in the city to prevent another similar incident. However, such a ban would have to be regulated by a new ordinance, since fireworks for entertainment and festive purposes were allowed under certain conditions.

Dalipe was also expected to issue an executive order directing the Office of the City Engineer, police and barangay officials to inspect all warehouses and storage facilities in the city.

Colonel Kimberly Molitas, the city’s police director, said ground zero of the explosion was still near civilians due to ongoing cleanup operations.

She said they found several boxes of pyrotechnics at the site. Although these boxes were soaked, they had to be recovered and brought to Barangay Muti for proper disposal.

“For safety reasons and as a precautionary measure, people cannot return to the area until everything is cleared,” Molitas said, adding that they had received 37 more complaints, mostly seeking compensation from the warehouse owner.

Cries for help

City officials distributed food packages to 40 families living in the vicinity of the fireworks explosion site.

In addition to food packages from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the city government will disburse P10,000 to five families whose relatives died in the incident, said municipal social welfare officer Maria Socorro Rojas.

However, there is no official announcement yet as to who will cover the costs of treating the 38 people injured in the explosion who are still being treated in four different hospitals.

The grieving families of Limen, Ramos and Lacastesantos are asking for support with funeral expenses.

Manelyn Gregorio, sister of Mirriam Gregorio Limen, said the family cannot afford the burial of her sister, her husband and her son. The couple who died in the explosion left behind three children, aged 18, 15 and 2 years old. The family lives in a shanty town in Barangay Lumbangan.

Nerissa Ramos, a domestic worker abroad and Jonalyn’s mother, also asked for help to visit and mourn her daughter. Ramos has been working in Saudi Arabia for five months and could only afford a one-way flight to Manila. She said her daughter, a nursing student, had been working part-time as a warehouse manager for the Chuas before the explosion.