COTABATO CITY – Barely a week after classes in public schools opened, an afternoon fire gutted a four-classroom school building in Talitay, Maguindanao.
No one was hurt in the incident among the students of Pageda Elementary School. Lt. Karl Centinaje, Talitay police chief, said the fire occurred around 3:30 p.m. just as the students have finished their classes for the day.
“Fire investigators are looking into faulty electrical connections as the cause of the fire,” Centinaje said over a local radio station Friday. The police official said they are also looking into reports that the incident was a case of arson.
“Locals, however, said they saw no suspicious-looking characters roaming the school premises prior to the incident,” he said.
Edres Kasan, Talitay schools district supervisor, said the school has some 200 elementary students sharing two four-classroom, single-story buildings. (with PNA reports)
