Ayala Land rejects gas blast theory

Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) rejected yesterday police findings that the Glorietta 2 blast was accidental and caused by a deadly reaction of methane coming into contact with diesel fumes at a poorly ventilated basement of the high-end mall.

ALI said at a press conference that it is ready to face the consequences if it could be proven that negligence was to blame for the deadly blast last Friday.

“Ayala has done what is right and whatever is the outcome of this investigation we are prepared to take whatever actions,” ALI president and chief executive officer Jaime Ayala said.

Police said earlier that the methane buildup was caused by a leaky sewerage system at the basement where a 4,000-liter diesel tank could also be found.

“At this point, we are providing the facts so that the authorities can finish their report. We would like to wait until we receive the report so that we could actually address the specific conclusion,” Ayala said.

“As far as we know, there was nothing extraordinary that our personnel mentioned to us,” he said.

“There are no maintenance reports or observations by maintenance personnel of any aberrations to the diesel tank,” he said.

“The reason why we are here is that there are facts that we think would be relevant to the authorities in their analysis and that this information will be helpful,” he added.

He said independent structural engineers tapped by ALI inspected Glorietta 1, 3, 4 and found them safe. He said investigators cordoned off Glorietta 2 and that even ALI personnel were denied access to the blast site.

“The site has not been turned over to us and at this point, we are unable to conduct thorough analysis on the site,” he said.

Ayala also rebuffed police claims that inadequate ventilation caused the accumulation of methane at the basement.

“The basement is ventilated by air entering the approximately 2.4x2.4 meter opening at the stairwell, which is connected to the delivery bay area which at that time was opened to the road,” Ayala said

He added that it was almost impossible for methane to accumulate at the mall basement since human waste coming from the mall doesn’t stay long at the building’s sump pit. The waste is “98 percent liquid,” he said.

“There is constant flow of mainly liquid wastewater from toilets into the sump pit and onto the city sewer. Wastewater entering the pit stays in the pit for less than 24 hours,” Ayala explained.

“The usual decomposition process brought about by large amounts of solid matter in house septic tanks does not occur in this commercial sump pit,” he pointed out.

He also stressed that the diesel tank at the basement was in good shape and that it was last used during a power outage in June. 

ALI spokesman Alfonso Reyes said the blast had caused damage worth about P100 million but that lost revenues were not likely to impact significantly on the company’s full-year profits.

Revenues from the damaged section of the mall were equivalent to “only two percent of our total Ayala center revenues for 2006,” Reyes said. – With AFP and Reuters