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Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Glorietta mall up for inspection
MANILA -- The Makati City Government ordered on Monday the temporary closure of the bombed out Glorietta shopping mall following concerns of possible collapse due to Friday’s explosion that ripped part of the building.
Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado said the City Engineers’ Office served the preventive closure order to the Ayala Land Corporation early Monday morning so it could perform necessary checks on the mall’s integrity.
Post your comments on the explosion at the Glorietta 2 mall in Makati City.
“This is just a joint inspection of our engineers and the technical personnel of Ayala. We just want to make sure that the building remains safe for the public,” Mercado said in a press conference at the Makati City Hall.
He said about 12 structural and electrical engineers will perform the inspection.
“The checks will be done in a matter of two to five hours so we expect to open the mall the next day. If we don’t find anything wrong, we will immediately release a certification,” Mercado explained.
The inspection, he said, will start at the blast site and will move on to other parts of the shopping mall. He added that those to be particularly checked are the beams, posts and walls, and electrical wiring.
“There could be some cracks we haven’t noticed yet so we really have to check,” he said.
Mercado, however, stressed that their joint inspection with the Ayala Land will not cover the cause of Friday’s explosion because this is currently being investigated by the Makati police.
“It would be hard for us to speculate without any basis. We better leave that to the police,” he said when asked if the explosion could have been an accident.
He said the “situation” in the entire Makati central business district remains “under control” and that business operation is "normal" three days after the huge blast.
Mercado said the inspection is needed not only to determine the structural soundness of the mall but also determine the damage of the mall.
Initially scheduled at 8 p.m. Monday, the inspection however did not push through.
Security set-ups
National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said he would meet the private security associations and building owners’ organizations to discuss and review existing building and security set-ups in the different structures following the explosion.
Gonzales said they would discuss the buildings’ security setups in basements and areas where waste products, supplies, petroleum and other flammable items are kept.
He said this is necessary after one of the angles that came up in the Glorietta 2 explosion was a possible gas leak, aside from a suspected bombing attack.
He said with the explosion at Glorietta, he is certain that some building owners would be more alert and eventually ensure the safety of their current set-ups especially those who owned older buildings or establishments.
Additional personnel
In the aftermath of the blast, Makati Police Chief Gilbert Cruz appealed to Camp Crame for additional personnel to augment his force.
Cruz said at present he has only 585 uniformed personnel tasked to secure and patrol the city’s 33 barangays and the central business district (CBD), which played host to the offices of some of the country’s largest financial and commercial establishments as well as shopping malls and department stores.
Several posh villages are located within the city, namely, Forbes Park, Dasmariñas, San Lorenzo and Bel-Air. Also located within the city are 40 consulates and embassies that the police likewise have to secure.
“Our present strength is not enough to maintain the ideal police to population ratio. We need additional personnel especially since Makati is the country’s financial center,” Cruz said.
Foreign experts
The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), meanwhile, said a group of American and Australian experts are helping in the investigation on the explosion at the Glorietta mall.
NCRPO Chief Geary Barias said the foreign experts will assist the Multi-Agency Investigation Task Force composed of the PNP, National Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Fire Protection tasked to look into the blast.
“After rescue and clearing operations at the blast site, we have sifted through a lot of debris and rubble and are continuing this procedure in search for IED (improvised explosives device) components that will help us determine whether or not this explosion was intentionally or accidentally caused,” said Barias.
According to Barias, the foreign experts from the US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation and Australian Federal Police will help in the conduct of test of the materials recovered by PNP bomb experts at the scene of the explosion.
“As of this time, we have not found any component such as time device, power source, initiator, switches and container. The initial discovery of RDX is still undergoing further laboratory examination from samples taken from the blast site in order to come up with conclusive findings,” he said.
RDX is a main component of C-4 explosives, which are exclusively used by the military. The military has ordered an inventory of its C-4 exclusives in the face of initial findings that the explosion was caused by a C-4 and that soldiers were behind the attack.
“After three days, our post-blast investigators have finally gained access to the lower basement of Glorietta 2 after draining the same of some 19 trucks of combined oil, diesel and water substance,” said Barias.
He said: “A representative sample of the substances was submitted to the PNP Crime Laboratory for forensic examination,” Barias said, adding that the sample would be subjected to tests. “We are awaiting the result of such examination.”
Industrial accident
Investigators said they are looking into the possibility that the explosion was caused by an industrial accident but they are not ruling out the terror angle. They said there was a large volume of diesel fuel stored in the site prior to the explosion.
“We are going to look into all angles. In fact, we are going to get experts to tell us if diesel is capable of exploding. If that amount of diesel can general power to push that slab at the atrium and create damage up to the fourth floor, that’s a deduction you’re making. We do not know if the (diesel) tank exploded,” said PNP Chief Avelino Razon Jr.
“We have now directed the PNP Crime Laboratory to test diesel if RDX is a component of diesel, to conduct test if it is capable of exploding,” said Razon.
Independent body
For the religious group Philippines for Jesus Movement (PJM), the Glorietta mall explosion should be investigated by an independent body.
“The one who should investigate the Makati incident is an independent body, one that is really capable of investigating,” said Bishop Dan Balais, secretary general of PJM.
According to Balais, the creation of an independent body would prevent a cover-up on what is the real cause of the explosion.
“It’s possible that there will be a cover-up. We hope and pray that it won’t be like that. So there has to be an impartial investigation done by experts,” he said.
“Their report must also be free from intervention especially from those who benefited from the explosion whether they are terrorists or from the government,” added Balais. (Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Baguio. (October 23, 2007 issue)
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