CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – A Canadian national was killed in a fire that gutted the pad he was staying in Barangay Bugo, at about 7:40 in the morning of January 25.
The victim was identified as Joseph William Morley Tweedie, 69, and was renting a pad at Zone 3, Bugo.
Initial investigation revealed the fire may have been caused by a cigarette as Tweedie was known to have been a smoker and drinker.
According to the Puerto police station, Tweedie died from a third degree burn from the fire that started at around 7:40 in the morning Monday.
Senior Master Sergeant Ronelio Ubas, Puerto police investigator, said the victim was alone at the time of fire, although he had a house help who usually comes to the pad before lunchtime to do the cooking and other chores.
He said the fire did not spread to the adjoining pad units, but all his belongings were consumed by the flame.
Fire fighters, he said, found the victim’s charred body on the bed, adding that Tweedie had a hard time walking due to a medical condition.
Ubas said they have yet to confirm the report that Tweedie was a retired teacher in Vancouver before he arrived in the Philippines some 10 years ago.
He said the victim had been going in and out of the country at least six times.
In an interview with reporters, Paulo Buaya, the pad’s owner, he said that Tweedie used to narrate his intent on spending the rest of his life staying in the Philippines than in his country of birth.-Jigger Jerusalem
