Ex-QC engineers' acquittal in Ozone tragedy affirmed

The Sandiganbayan Third Division has recently affirmed its decision acquitting former Quezon City engineer and building official Alfredo Macapugay of criminal liability in connection with the death of 162 people in the 1996 Ozone Disco fire.

The anti-graft court said the evidence of the prosecution is not sufficient to prove Macapugay’s criminal liability beyond reasonable doubt.

The Sandiganbayan said the accused does not have the burden of proving his innocence to avert a conviction. The anti-graft court said it is for the prosecution to overcome the constitutional presumption of innocence and establish the guilt of the accused with proof beyond reasonable doubt, “and failing in here, the accused is entitled to an acquittal.”

In its resolution, the Sandiganbayan said the prosecution failed to present evidence that Macapugay had any involvement in the grant of safety clearances and permits to operate to the establishment without conducting an actual inspection and despite several structural defects that allegedly rendered the Ozone Dance Club a firetrap.

“To convict someone who apparently had no hand in the issuance of the subject building permits is anathema to the concept of justice. And while a verdict of guilt does not require absolute certainty, it is necessary that the prosecution’s evidence in its totality should produce moral certainty of the accused’s culpability in the court’s unprejudiced mind. The prosecution has failed in this regard,” the Sandiganbayan said in its resolution.

Instead, the court noted that documentary evidence points to former Assistant City Engineer Benjamin Malinao as the one who examined Ozone’s applications and approved the issuance of permits and clearances.

Prosecutors argued that Macapugay’s delegation of his duties and functions to Malinao was improper and illegal and therefore the former should be held liable for the acts of the latter.

But the Sandiganbayan disagreed, citing that Malinao was “both a civil engineer and an architect with a masteral degree.”

“In fact, the prosecution never questioned Malinao’s qualification as civil engineer or his competence as such,” the resolution read.

The Sandiganbayan said that Macapugay deserved an acquittal for the prosecution’s failure to prove his “authorship” of the crime he was accused of.

The Sandiganbayan also dismissed claims of damages for civil liability against Macapugay that were filed by the relatives of the victims of the fire. 

Macapugay was earlier charged with reckless imprudence resulting to multiple homicide and multiple physical injuries for alleged negligence in verifying the safety of the plans and facilities of the disco house when it was constructed in 1991 and again when it was renovated in 1992.

 Macapugay was the only defendant named in the case. – Sandy Araneta