ANOTHER BODY was found at the burned down New City Commercial Center (NCCC) Mall in Ma-a on July 11, six months after the tragic incident that has now claimed 39 lives. The body was found amid the ongoing demolition of the building. “Upon validating with the contractor, we immediately secured the area and informed the Inter-agency Task Force and Bureau of Fire regarding this matter. The Bureau of Fire (BFP), Philippine National Police, and Scene of the Crime Operatives were on site last night for proper investigation and transfer of the body to a safe place,” a company statement said. The NCCC management said, “We are now focused on ensuring the proper identification of the body and preserving the dignity of the deceased.” Fire hit the homegrown mall on Dec. 23 last year which took several days to fully contain. Among those killed were 37 employees of call center SSI Philippines, Inc., and one mall employee. The mall management said further queries on the recovery of the body will be addressed by the BFP Davao Region office. The Inter-agency Arson Task Force (IATF) that investigated the incident submitted its final report to the Department of Justice in March and is pending action. The IATF recommended criminal and administrative charges against 18 NCCC officials, the SSI Philippines management, AC Rockport Construction, and 13 officials and personnel from the Davao City Office of the Building Official, BFP-Davao, and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority. — Carmencita A. Carillo

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