United Pilipino Against Crime and Corruption (UPACC) chairperson Pyra Nucum Lucas denied committing or intending to commit destructive arson, saying her involvement in the dispute was limited to asking barangay officials to address the fence and nipa hut on land belonging to Arthur Aquino.
This after a couple from Capas, Tarlac has filed a destructive arson complaint against Lucas and three others before the Department of Justice (DOJ) over the burning of their newly built home in June 2025.
Emil and Analyn Cadiang accused Lucas, social media personality Arthur Aquino and two unidentified individuals of involvement in the 28 June 2025 fire that destroyed their house in Sitio Hotspring, Barangay Bueno, according to complaint documents.
For her part, Lucas said she had written to barangay officials in Bueno, Capas, Tarlac, requesting an investigation into the structures, which she described as illegally built.
She said she had asked officials to resolve the matter through lawful and peaceful means.
“We did not commit any illegal acts,” Lucas said.
She maintained that her presence in the area did not establish criminal liability and rejected the allegations against her.
“My mere presence in the area cannot be considered a crime,” she said, adding that she believed the accusations were politically motivated and intended to harass her and malign her reputation.
Lucas also alleged that, months before the complaint was filed, she had received information that the Cadiangs would be used to bring a fabricated case against her.
She offered a counter-account of the fire, saying passersby had seen Emil inside the nipa hut while it was burning. She described the structure as having been illegally built on Aquino’s property.
In their joint affidavit, the Cadiangs alleged that Emil saw Lucas and a heavyset man pulling down the roofing-sheet fence surrounding their property while a woman recorded the incident. Aquino was also allegedly present.
Emil said another man chased him downhill after shouting, “May tao!” He later saw thick black smoke rising from the house.
The couple further alleged that the respondents watched the house burn from beside a white vehicle. Emil said he later found gasoline containers on the property.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) classified the blaze as intentional, citing clean burn patterns, substantial material loss in the middle of the structure and the absence of an accidental heat source.
However, the BFP findings did not identify who was responsible for the fire.
Fire responders arrived at 5:37 p.m., when the blaze had already been extinguished. The BFP estimated the damage at P200,000 and said evidence had been submitted for forensic analysis.
The Cadiangs said their dispute with Aquino began in 2023, when he allegedly claimed about 260 square meters of the property.
According to the complaint, Lucas attended barangay meetings as Aquino’s attorney-in-fact.
In a 9 June 2025 letter to the barangay captain, Lucas, signing as UPACC chairperson, requested an investigation into the fence and a nipa hut on the disputed property and their removal.
The complaint also cited an alleged statement by Aquino days before the fire: “Si Ma’am Pyra na lang ang bahala sa inyo” (Ma’am Pyra will take care of you).
It further referred to a neighbor’s account that Aquino allegedly said the group had agreed only to scare the family. The neighbor was not identified as a firsthand witness to the fire.
In a letter to Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon, the couple’s lawyer sought DOJ intervention, citing safety concerns and difficulties participating in proceedings before the Tarlac provincial prosecutor’s office.