Senate to tap independent experts for Glorietta blast probe

To determine the real cause of the explosion at the Glorietta 2 in Makati City last year that killed 11 people and injured over 100 others, the Senate will tap independent explosives experts for its inquiry.

Sen. Gregorio Honasan, chairman of the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs, assured the public that the Senate is conducting a thorough and more objective inquiry into the blast after the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) gave conflicting versions on the incident, which both parties reiterated in yesterday’s ocular inspection.

The experts may be from the University of the Philippines (UP), he said.

“We should be careful about making statements in a highly political situation...that would reveal unnecessary biases,” Honasan said in a press conference after the ocular inspection at the blast site yesterday.

In the same press conference, ALI officials also presented before the media two foreign experts they hired to conduct an investigation into the real cause of the explosion.

Dr. Stephen Etheridge, a forensic expert from the United Kingdom, contradicted the PNP’s claims that the explosion was due to biogas accumulation.

“As a result of this visit, my mind has not changed. I am finding it very difficult to understand how such a large amount of bio­gas could cause significant damage in a specific area,” said Etheridge, who added that he was ready to face anybody who would challenge his findings. 

Aini Ling, a forensics expert from Malaysia, said traces of the explosive RDX were found at the explosion site.

When questioned over their being “hired” experts by Ayala and that they would not likely render an objective finding, Etheridge and Ling said they based their findings on the facts.

Ling found RDX in five swabs and one scraping in the basement during her own inspection on Nov. 2 and 6, or more than two weeks after the Oct. 19 incident.

During the inspection, Honasan and Senators Rodolfo Biazon and Pia Cayetano noticed the “columnar effect” that created a crater in the middle of the affected area.

Honasan and Rodolfo Biazon are chairmen of the Senate committees on public order and safety, and national defense and security, respectively.

Asked about his initial assessment, Honasan said the “columnar effect” could have been “caused by the massive air pressure from the underground basement.”  The senator was careful about giving out conclusions or if such was due to the impact of a bomb.

“We are asking (ALI president Jaime) Ayala to provide us a copy of their reports, beyond what they have submitted so that we can reconcile these with the Technical Working Group (TWG)… to prospectively and proactively look into this in aid of legislation,” Honasan said.

Honasan said the Senate’s probe intends to put out necessary legislation or amend the Fire Code, Building Code, the Human Security Act, and rules on disaster preparedness.

Honasan said the Senate will have two more technical working group meetings to consolidate the conflicting findings of the PNP and the ALI.

Ayala and other ALI officials, along with Southern Police District (SPD) director Chief Superintendent Luisito Ticman, went to the blast site for the Senate inspection. Armed Forces vice-chief of staff Lt. Gen. Antonio Romero was also present during the inspection.

The area remains closed to the public as Ayala officials saw fit to “preserve” the blast site pending a final investigation report from authorities, said Paulo Campos III, special assistant to the ALI president.

Cayetano expressed concern over the safety of sewages and sump pits in the area and other public places. “This cannot happen again,” she said.

Ticman reiterated yesterday that they have scientific, physical, forensic, and documentary evidence to back up the official PNP report. He added that the police report is backed up by the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation, Australian Federal Police, and the Philippine Institute on Pure and Applied Chemistry, which “took swabs everywhere and all turned up negative.”

The PNP’s findings were also supported by Superintendent Fennimore Jaudian of the Bureau of Fire and Protection (BFP).