CITY OF MALOLOS—The hopes and dreams of two teenagers from two different families, that of their three younger siblings and their three parents vanished untimely after they were killed in two separate fire incidents in this city and in Sta. Maria town.
The joy of the family of 18-year old Felice Gabrielle Caluag for passing the entrance examination in Bulacan State University as an incoming freshman student for 2025-2026 school year turns into grief after she was killed from a fire incident in their house in Sitio Malanggam, Barangay Bulihan in this city on Wednesday, May 21.
Her lifeless body and that of her mother, Maricel S. Caluag, 49 and younger brother Julien Lucius, 9, were found by City of Malolos Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) members near a door leading to a balcony in the second floor of their house at nearly 4:00 am.
Maricel, a public school elementary teacher, has just completed the school supply needs of Felice and Julien as they were all looking forward for the opening of classes next month, her sister Marilou Santos Pagsibigan told Inquirer at the wake at Malolos Memorial Homes.
The lifeless body of the father in the family, Philip Galang Caluag, 47, was found in the master’s bedroom on the second floor of the house.
Zethyehoshua, 15, the middle child of the couple was rescued alive and was brought to a private hospital for the needed medical treatment.
Benefit as OFW son
Residents in Bulihan expressed concern that Zethyehoshua, being a surviving son of a fifteen year former Overseas Filipino Worker would receive benefits from the government.
Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Malolos chief for intelligence and investigation unit SFO1 Carmela Concepcion said they were able to rescue him while inside a comfort room on the second floor of the house.
Concepcion told NEWSCORE that the fire while reported to them at around 3:48 am had broken out minutes earlier. They declared a fire out at 4:18 am.
Based on Initial investigation, Concepcion said, all the four victims died of suffocation at the second floor of the house. She said the fire started at the ground floor.
Juanito Santos, uncle of Maricel, told NEWSCORE that the fire did not reach the upper ground of the house but only thick fumes.
Santos said the remnants and believed origin of the fire was at the TV section at the corner of the house in the ground floor, just beside the front window. However, they could not pinpoint what exactly caused the fire.
“At around 3:30 am, my sister whose house is adjacent to the house of our niece Maricel, was awakened because of the sudden loud barking of our dogs. It was probably when the fire was already engulfing the ground floor and the thick fumes reached the upper ground. We all rushed to pacify and control the fire using our fire extinguishers and the neighbors helped us with their own pales and hoses of water,” he said.
Fire personnel immediately reached the second floor of the house to rescue the victims.
SET ON FIRE IN STA. MARIA
In Sta. Maria town, siblings Kairo Rodrigo Aspero, 14; Kyle Andres Aspero, 6 and Kimuel Ziean Aspero, 3, were killed after their very own mother set their bodies on fire. Their mother, Joycie Aspero, 28, then also killed herself by setting her body on fire in a tragic 8:00 in the morning of May 15 in Barangay San Vicente.
Lea Briones, head of the Violation Against Women and Children (VAWC) Desk in Barangay San Vicente said that the mother first burnt the bodies of her three children before setting her own body on fire and got killed using paint thinner and a match.
Daniel Gregorio,San Vicente village watchman, one of those who immediately responded to the incident and brought the victims to a hospital said, there was no fire that broke out inside the house but only the bodies of the victims were burnt and on fire. But he said, the bed from which Ziean was sleeping was also burnt and destroyed as his body was burning in fire.
At past 12 midnight and very early dawn that day before the fateful incident, the mother filed a complaint in San Vicente VAWC desk over alleged family issues concerning her mother-in-law.
Briones told NEWSCORE that according to the family, Joycie and her husband, a policeman assigned in Batangas had an earlier argument the night before over her mother in law’s invitation to her husband to join in a bible study. But then, the couple went asleep together. However, without the husband knowing, the wife later went to the VAWC desk and filed such complaint.
According to Briones, they are supposed to call the two parties for a hearing and possible settlement the following day after the complaint was lodged until the incident happened.
The policeman had already left the house bound for work when he received a call about the incident.
According to Briones, Joycie could be suffering from postpartum depression.
Postpartum cases are often being reported in the VAWC desk, Briones said, where mothers hurt their children and always starts fights with their husbands. They place the couple in counseling and in some cases, refer incidents to psychologists, Briones also said.
The family of the victims requested for privacy and would not want to give comments on the incident.
The remains of the three siblings lie in state at a funeral home in Sta. Maria.
