Makati gov’t to check Glorietta mall’s integrity

10/23/2007

The Glorietta shopping mall has been served with a temporary closure order to give way to an inspection to be conducted by the city government of Makati.

Friday’s explosion, which killed 11 persons and injured more than a hundred, has raised concerns over the structure’s possible collapse due to the extensive damage it sustained.

During a press briefing at the Makati City Hall yesterday, Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado said the city engineers’ office served the preventive closure order to the Ayala Land Corp. early in the morning so that it could check the mall’s integrity.

He stressed, however, that the joint inspection with the Ayala Land would not cover the cause of Friday’s explosion as it is already being investigated by the Makati police.

Not wanting to speculate without any basis, Mercado said they will leave that matter to police experts.

Portions of the mall remain in business three days after the powerful blast.

The vice mayor said the joint inspection by Makati engineers and the technical personnel of the Ayala Land would make sure that the building is safe for the public.

A team of 12 structural and electrical engineers will perform the inspection around 8 p.m. after the mall’s operating hours so as not to cause unnecessary panic among mall-goers.

“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 at Glorietta 2, and will move on to other parts of the shopping mall.

He added to be particularly checked are the beams, posts and walls, and electrical wirings.

Councilor Jejomar Erwin Binay, a member of the rescue team who arrived within minutes after the blast, has claimed that portion of the roof might collapse due to the damage it sustained.

“There could be some cracks we haven’t noticed yet so we really have to check,” he said.

The Makati Rescue has stopped its rescue operations at Glorietta 2 but will remain at the blast site in case there is a need for search and retrieval operations and medical assistance, Binay yesterday said.

“We have decided to stop our rescue efforts for now but we will not leave the site. We were the first ones there and we will be the last ones to leave,” Binay, who heads the Makati Rescue, said.

Binay added the team has not received reports of missing persons and inquiries from concerned citizens regarding the whereabouts of their relatives since Sunday. But he said Makati Rescue teams will be at the site 24/7 in case more blast victims are found.

He urged those with relatives who were supposed to be at Glorietta last Friday and who are still missing to immediately call the Makati Command Center at 168 for PLDT phones and at 870-1920, 870-1923, 870-1926, 870-1929, 870-1932, 870-1935, 870-1955, 870-1950, 870-1951, and 899-8879.

They will also provide assistance to police and fire personnel who are still conducting investigation.

The Makati Rescue deployed a total of 40 personnel and four emergency medical services doctors to conduct search and rescue operations. The initial team of 10 rescue personnel arrived at the scene some five minutes after the explosion.

Binay, who was part of the first team, said the rescue team also deployed two bomb-sniffing dogs and two search-and-rescue dogs to assist in the recovery effort.

“The team’s rescue truck and ambulances were also sent to the site, and the rescuers were armed with latest medical equipment and rescue tools acquired by the city government,” Binay said.

Ben Gines Jr.

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