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By James Konstantin Galvez, Reporter
Police said they are all but certain that a gas buildup, not a bomb,
caused the Glorietta 2 mall explosion on October 19.
This conclusion by the Philippine National
Police comes ahead of its unfinished official report on the blast in
Makati, the country’s financial district, where 11 people were
killed and more than 100 injured.
The report will be completed in two to three
weeks, the police chief, Director General Avelino Razon Jr., told
The Manila Times during an exclusive roundtable Tuesday.
Razon said they had officially ruled out the
possibility of a bomb triggering the blast at the basement of the
mall. He added that they are standing by their findings that the
explosion was likely caused by a gas buildup.
“There were no traces of an explosive device
found [at the blast site]. Based on the physical evidence gathered,
an accidental gas explosion occurred,” he said.
The police reinforced its theory that an
“accidental gas explosion” was to blame by showing a video
footage contradicting the previous claim of Ayala Land Inc., the
mall owner, that methane could not have caused the blast.
The mall owner made the claim without having
probed the incident.
“Ayala Land did not conduct its own
independent investigation, contrary to the some media reports,”
Razon told The Times, adding that “they just have opinions.”
He said the mall owner has been cooperating with
police investigators “since Day One.”
The Times learned Ayala Land can launch its own
inquiry into the blast only with the permission of the Philippine
National Police.
Razon, during the first few hours after the
explosion, said a “bomb” had caused it. Police noted the
presence of “RDX”—a component of the military-grade explosive
C4—at the site. That was later retracted by police, who are now
firm that there are no traces of explosives—even small
ones—anywhere at the blast site.
Also earlier, National Capital Region Police
Office Director Geary Barias said methane produced by the abundance
of sewage and a spark from a still unknown origin triggered the
blast.
Razon said investigators from the Australian
Federal Police and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well
as Israeli experts, had backed the gas-leak theory. He refused to
disclose the results of the visitors’ independent findings, saying
these were the foreign experts’ request. The police can quote
liberally from their reports in the Philippine police report.
An interagency task force probing the explosion
supposedly was about to wrap up its job after authorities recovered
all five submersible pumps from the Glorietta 2 basement last
Friday. The pumps are seen as key leads to pinning down the cause of
the blast. They were said to have been installed to address a
sewage-system failure just days before the incident.
Ayala Land said there had been no major repairs
done in the basement.
Barias said the recovery of the five pumps will
help strengthen their accidental gas explosion theory.
He added that the blast site will be tagged for
future references, just in case someone would question the results
of their investigation.
A biogas expert commissioned by Ayala Land said
methane build-up did not cause the blast.
Razon, however, said no amount of findings from
other groups could overturn the results of their own probe. He added
that they are the only authorized investigators of the incident.
Southern Police District chief, Supt. Luizo
Ticman, for his part, said they are studying the possible charges to
be filed against negligent parties based on the police findings.
--With Anthony Vargas
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