DOJ set to issue resolution on Glorietta blast; more names added

The Department of Justice is expected to release today or tomorrow its resolution on the charges to be filed by the government against the individuals responsible for the Glorietta 2 explosion last year, which resulted in the death of 11 persons.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez told Palace reporters yesterday that more names would be added to the initial list of individuals found liable for the explosion submitted by the Multi-Agency Investigation Task Force (MAITF) earlier this month.

The MAITF, in its report, found 15 individuals liable for the Glorietta 2 incident, including officials of Makati Supermarket Corp. and the Makati Fire Department.

Gonzalez reviewed the report, saying he has the final say on who would be charged.

Earlier, the justice secretary said he would look into the possible liability of Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) and the Ayala Property Management Corp. (APMC) during his review of the report.

During yesterday’s briefing, Gonzalez revealed ALI had no involvement in the incident.

On the other hand, he said he is looking at three names from APMC that would be included in the list.

Gonzalez declined to identify the APMC officials who will be charged since he is still looking into the records of the company at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“We are still looking at the records in the SEC about the Ayala Property Management because it appears that almost all of the members of the directors of Ayala Property are just there as nominal members, so we have to look at the controlling people here and who are really managing this,” he said.

Based on the website of APMC, the company is a wholly owned subsidiary of ALI and is engaged in integrated property management services, including building administration and maintenance, lease administration activities, commercial center and subdivision maintenance, and special technical services.

APMC provides property management services for shopping centers, subdivisions, parking structures, waterworks operations and other properties developed by ALI and its subsidiaries.

The MAITF, in its report, found that the explosion was caused by an accumulation of various gases that was ignited by automatic switches.