The fire at the Senate building on Sunday morning did not affect important documents, according to Senate President Vicente Sotto III. He said the maintenance team is continuing to clean up the area after the fire was extinguished.
According to Sotto, the fire started in the Legislative Technical Affairs Bureau office on the third floor. He stressed that all important documents, including those held by the Blue Ribbon Committee, are safe and undamaged.
Water from the firefighting efforts also hit the Session Hall located on the second floor. Sotto said the maintenance team will work all day to dry out and restore the Session Hall before the session on Monday.
The fire was reported at around 6:30 a.m. and the Bureau of Fire Protection responded immediately. It reached the second alarm, and more than 10 fire trucks from Pasay and Makati helped control the smoke and flames on the upper floor.
The BFP report on the cause of the fire and extent of damage is still awaited. This comes amid expectations of large protests at the Luneta and People Power Monument over the issue of corruption in flood control projects, in which several senators have been implicated but no charges have been filed.
