GLORIETTA REVISITED | Serendra blast probers check similarities in 2 Ayala projects

From InterAksyon (Jun 2): GLORIETTA REVISITED | Serendra blast probers check similarities in 2 Ayala projects

Police investigators are looking into similarities between two explosions, the October 2007 Glorietta-2 blast and Friday’s Serendra condominium explosion, noting the absence of bomb traces in both Ayala development projects, the National Police’s chief for Metro Manila said Sunday.

NCRPO chief Gen. Leonardo Espina, who had just arrived from a meeting with Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas II,  said revisiting the Glorietta mall blast in Makati City was part of the probers’ task in exploring all angles in the mysterious but powerful explosion at Two Serendra residential building at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig past 8pm Friday, May 31.

He hinted at the possibility there may be an “intra-corporate” thread in both cases, citing similarities in the way gas pipes are built, and the fact that initial tests involving canines showed no bomb traces. However, he reiterated Secretary Roxas’s position that probers will still consider all angles, including a bombing, until forensic scientists and various structural and  safety experts finish their work on what is billed as a “crime scene”—the fifth floor of Two Serendra, from where two concrete walls were pushed out by the powerful blast, sending a huge slab flying across the street and straight into a passing delivery van, killing three people.

Meanwhile, besides police probers, the Bureau of Fire Protection has also sent top arson investigators to the scene of the Serendra blast.

Both Glorietta-2, where 11 people died in 2007, and the upscale Two Serendra Condominium in Taguig City are projects of prestigious developer Ayala Land Inc.

Glorietta, Serendra ‘similarities’

"There are several similarities (explosions at the Two Serendra Condominium on Friday and at the Glorietta Mall in 2007), and the Ayala Land Inc. as its developer is among those. Other similarities include the absence of bomb traces, the way the gas pipes were built, among others”.

In the case of Glorietta 2, which has since been rebuilt, probers initially suspected an act of terrorism caused the explosion, but later inquiries showed the buildup of methane gas from the basement had apparently caused it.

A police officer surfaced a few years ago, claiming his findings indicating it was a bombing had been suppressed by higher-ups, but that was generally ignored by authorities.

With a high number of casualties at Glorietta, the government in 2007 had called for an investigation that centered on the possible liability of mall developer Ayala Land, Inc. However, the task force created to inquiry on the mall blast cleared ALI of any responsibility.

The Department of Justice fact-finding group found at least seven persons – mostly people who have had a hand in the construction of the mall, liable. They were charged with reckless imprudence resulting in homicide. All seven suspects posted bail and the case pends at the Makati Regional Trial Court.

At Serendra, the ALI has since Friday cooperated with national and local government authorities in the checking of the condominium building’s gas pipelines, electrical and structural aspects of the building as well as its general safety.

Police probers are still doing interviews with the condominium's security personnel and tenants. The security personnel also submitted a copy of the video recordings of the close-circuit security camera.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/63112/glorietta-revisited--serendra-blast-probers-check-similarities-in-2-ayala-projects