php include statements seem to point to incorrect directories

[eluser]dbug[/eluser]
When I try to include a file on my server with php include statement I get the following error:


A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: include() [function.include]: Failed opening 'index.html' for inclusion (include_path='.:/opt/bitnami/php/lib/php')

Filename: controllers/apns_service.php

Line Number: 16

For some reason it is looking for the file in the below path.
inclusion (include_path='.:/opt/bitnami/php/lib/php')


I'm not sure if this is a server configuration or codeigniter problem. I setup a bitnami image on ec2. I am pretty new to this server admin stuff. Does anyone have idea why include would not look in the relative directory to the file but instead in this directory?

Thanks for any help I am completely stuck on this one.