SOME roads around Ayala Cen- ter Cebu and the mall itself will remain closed until the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) declares the fire out.
As of 9 p.m. Sunday, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) 7 still has not declared it so.
In a traffic advisory posted on Facebook dated Jan. 7, the Cebu Business Park said that except for Bohol St. and a part of Luzon Ave., all roads in the area will be open.
Building occupants of the Cebu IT Tower, Ayala Center Cebu Tower and FLB Tower will still have limited access to Bohol St.
Operations at the public utility vehicle terminal across the Ayala Center Cebu Tower will also be limited to the second floor. Access will only be available along the Archbishop Reyes Ave. for the meantime.
Cebu City Transportation Office operations head Francisco Ouano advised commuters and motorists who will be passing by the area to leave their homes early in case they get caught in traffic.
“We’re expecting heavy traffic since Ayala is a center where both northbound and southbound passengers meet. We’re also asking for the public’s understanding at this time of inconvenience,” he said.
In an interview, Atty. Jeanette Japzon, Cebu Holdings Inc. (CHI) corporate communications manager, said that although the fire is now under control, they still have to determine how soon the mall can reopen. CHI operates Ayala Center Cebu.
“The mall remains closed until the BFP declares that the fire is out and we can complete the clean-up and checking of our systems. We can’t determine the extent of damage as of the moment,” she told SunStar Cebu in a text message.
Japzon said the affected building is owned by the Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. (MRSGI) and stands on a property that it is leasing from CHI.
She added that the lease contract between CHI and MRSGI is still in effect, but details on its expiry were not available yesterday.
This was confirmed by lawyer Vincent Tomaneng, corporate secretary and chief legal counsel of MRSGI, a listed company.
Tomaneng said that statements posted on social networking sites that the lease contract expired recently and that a full renovation of the department store is a requirement for the renewal of the lease contract are only speculations.
Speculations that the Gaisanos intentionally set the building on fire also don’t make sense, he said.
“That’s all speculation. It’s (contract) not renewed, but it’s still in the process. It’s still not expiring, not within 10 years. Why would we intentionally destroy the building? Aside from it being illegal, the store is one of the best performing stores in the province. What would happen if there is no operation? We would be suffering from loss of opportunity and business. This really doesn’t make sense,” Tomaneng said.
He assured all the workers that they will not be displaced. He said that they have been calling meetings with them since Saturday morning to discuss their employment status following the incident.
“All regular and probationary employees will be absorbed and won’t be displaced. They will know where they will be reassigned (on Monday, Jan. 8) and still continue to be paid even during those days that there was no work because of the fire,” he added. (RTF with HBL of Superbalita )