By Ronron
October 22, 2007
Authorities are now entertaining the possibility of an industrial accident in the explosion last Friday at the Glorietta 2 mall in Makati City that claimed 11 lives and wounded over a hundred others.
No less than Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Avelino Razon, Jr. issued the statement on Monday, which contradicts his pronouncement last Saturday that the blast was caused by a bomb, thus it could not be accidental in nature.
“We are not yet at the stage of concluding what really happened,” Razon told a news conference at Camp Crame.
Chief Supt. Luizo Ticman, chief of the Southern Police District (SPD) who heads the Investigation Task Force for the incident, said the angles they are looking into are terror attack, industrial accident, and business rivalry.
The angle of “ultra-rightists” participation is also being considered, said Razon.
The raising of the “industrial accident” angle stemmed from the findings of investigators on site that the seat of explosion was at the basement, which houses a sewage system and diesel tanker. The basement was only penetrated by investigators on Sunday after some 19 trucks of water were siphoned out of it.
Ticman noted that the cover of the diesel tanker was partly ruptured and a hole was created after a pipe inside ripped through it up to the ceiling. The concrete ceiling of the basement was also blown up in concave form although it was not totally destroyed.
Razon said they have sought the help of metallurgical forensics and petrochemical experts to help ascertain as to what condition could trigger an opening of the diesel tank, or an explosion from it.
An investigator from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Supt. Fennimore Jaudian, who heads the Inter-Agency Task Force, said a methane gas explosion is possible from the basement because of the housing of both the sewage system and the diesel tank there.
“This (methane gas from the sewage system) should leak somewhere else because if it is confined, this is dangerous gas, and could really cause explosion,” Jaudian told reporters after the news conference.
While they may have no physical evidence to support the theory, Jaudian said the physical effects of the blast indicate the possibility of a methane gas explosion.
“Methane gas is lighter than air so this should be tested by air sampling. But the problem is the area was opened so by all probability, this has already escaped after the explosion,” Jaudian said.
Razon said the findings of the PNP Crime Laboratory regarding the presence of RDX, the main component in making C4 explosives, remains acceptable although as to how it is linked with a possible methane gas explosion is yet to be determined.
“Our crime lab will study if diesel fumes or vapor could cause RDX formation,” Ticman said.
As of yesterday, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Geary Barias, spokesman for the Investigation Task Force, said no bomb component have still been recovered from the blast site.
“As of this time, we have not found any component such as timing device, power source, initiator, switches and container. The initial discovery of RDX is still undergoing further laboratory examination from samples taken from the blast site in order to come up with conclusive findings,” Barias said.
Barias disclosed that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Australian Federal Police are also extending technical assistance already.
Meanwhile, Barias said the Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM) will remain as a suspect along with other groups even as it has already been regarded as “inactive” following the neutralization of its 12 core members over the last few years.
This, even as two other core members, identified as Sheik Omar Lavilla and Khalil Pareja alias Dino Amor, remain at large. Lavilla, said Barias, is believed to be in hiding in the Middle East, while Pareja is in Central Mindanao.
Lavilla had reportedly not been back in the country since early this year, Sr. Supt. Ager Ontog of the PNP’s Anti-Terrorism Unit, Task Force Sanlahi, said, quoting the Bureau of Immigration.
“We have not monitored any significant activity of the group since 2005,” Ontog said, referring to the Valentine’s Day bombing.
On Saturday, ABS-CBN News reported that an RSM leader contacted them and owned up the Glorietta 2 incident for the government’s failure to release their founding leader, Ahmad Santos.
“We are not discounting any group until all the facts are in. So we are keeping our options open. We are investigating everybody,” Ontog said./DMS
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