MANILA, Philippines—No officer of the Ayala firm that runs the Glorietta 2 mall in Makati City will be held criminally liable for the explosion on Oct. 19, 2007, that killed 11 people. But the Department of Justice threw out the Ayala theory that a bomb attack had caused the blast.

The DoJ panel led by Senior State Prosecutor Leo Dacera recommended the filing of criminal charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and multiple physical injuries against eight officers and staff members of Makati Supermarket Corp. (MSC) and two private firms that conducted repair work in the area.

It likewise cleared Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) personnel of any liability.

MSC spokesperson Federico Ples could not be reached for comment Thursday despite repeated attempts by the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net).

The DoJ panel threw out the contention of Ayala Property Management Corp. (APMC) that the blast that also injured more than 100 persons and damaged a wing of the shopping complex was caused by an explosive.

According to the panel, there was sufficient evidence to believe that a buildup of methane gas and diesel fumes in the MSC basement in the Glorietta mall—which is owned by the Makati Supermarket Corp.—led to the blast. Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) owns the land which is leased to MSC.

It was the Philippine National Police and the Department of Interior and Local Government that had filed the complaints against APMC, MSC and BFP officials at the DoJ.

The accused

Those recommended charged with reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and physical injuries were MSC assistant for projects and project engineer Candelario Valdueza; Marchem Industrial Sales and Services operations manager Clifford Arriola; Marchem supervisor Joselito Buenaventura; Marchem maintenance personnel Charlie Nepomuceno, Jonathan Ibuna and Juan Ricafort; Metaline operations manager and engineer Ricardo Cruz, and Metaline foreman Miguel Velasco Jr.

Marchem had conducted electrical work in the MSC basement, and Metaline, pipe work.

Those cleared of criminal responsibility were APMC building engineer Marcelo Botenes and building administrator Jowell Velvez, and Glorietta building manager Arnel Gonzales.

The DoJ panel said it found “worthwhile” to mention that Ayala companies had voluntarily shouldered the medical, funeral and burial expenses of the victims, and extended financial assistance to the injured.

SFO4 Anthony Grey, SFO2 Leonilo Balaois and Senior Insp. Reynaldo Enoc of the BFP were also cleared of neglect of duty.

But the multi-agency task force that looked into the Glorietta 2 explosion is considering filing a motion to include Ayala engineers and firemen in the charges, Director Geary Barias, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office, told the Inquirer.

Barias said the task force would hold a case conference shortly. “If we see no more need [to file the motion], we will let it be,” he said.

Civil liability

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Thursday told reporters that while no Ayala official would be held criminally liable for the explosion, the victims or their families could still file civil cases for damages.

“Civilly, I believe that [APMC] may still be liable. But I’m not suggesting that because they might say I encouraged it,” he said.

Gonzalez also said APMC could still contest the finding that a biogas explosion, and not a bomb attack, was responsible for the blast, “in the anticipation that there will be people who will charge them for damages.”

Although APMC runs the Glorietta mall, MSC is responsible for overseeing the repair being conducted in its own basement, the DoJ panel said in a 51-page resolution.

“The integration of the building into Glorietta 2 notwithstanding, MSC, as owner of the building, remains directly responsible for the proper maintenance and upkeep of its facilities and utilities,” it said.

The DoJ panel also said that even if MSC had designated ALI as manager of the building through a memorandum of agreement, ALI’s role was limited to selecting tenants, conducting audit examinations relating to the rent due, the billing and collection of rentals and the administration of financial matters.

“Verily, under both the [agreement] and original contract of lease between MSC and ALI, the responsibility for repairs and maintenance of the building, i.e. physical maintenance, shall be for the account of MSC,” it said.

The DoJ panel also pointed out that none of the equipment in the MSC basement was owned by the Ayala companies, and that the building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and sanitary permits were in the name of MSC.

Thus, it said, MSC’s Valdueza could not excuse himself from responsibility for the blast. (Valdueza had contended that it was APMC that was responsible for maintaining the Glorietta mall, and that he had reminded it of the need to fix the pumps.)

Failures

In finding Marchem personnel liable, the DoJ panel said they had failed to maintain and inspect the basement and supervise their maintenance personnel.

Marchem personnel also failed to observe safety practices that led to the defective pumps and the accumulation of methane in the MSC basement, the panel said.

Marchem was also found to have altered the electrical safety devices in the basement and failed to use explosion-proof electric control cabinets and equipment.

(In their defense, Marchem personnel had countered that the electrical system and pumps in the basement were working properly, and that they had not been negligent.)

Metaline officials were recommended charged for failing to properly install the air duct ventilation system and fire protection system of the MSC building. (They had earlier said that the complaint against them was baseless and that the DILG recommendation to prosecute them ran counter to the PNP findings.)

As for the BFP officials, the DoJ panel said they inspected the building three months before the incident and the MSC was found to have complied with the building code, and their issuance of fire safety inspection certificates were found to have been done regularly.

Since their inspection, activities took place that altered the landscape of the MSC.

Happy

Barias said the task force was “happy” that charges had been recommended by the DoJ.

He added: “We are glad that the DoJ has sustained the results of our investigation that the blast was caused by an accumulation of gases in the basement.”

In maintaining that the explosion was caused by an accumulation of methane gas, the DoJ panel noted the reports of the public works and labor departments and the National Bureau of Investigation’s physics report.

According to the reports: The gas accumulated in the basement after several pumps broke down, reducing the number of working pumps.

The basement became flooded and foul odor pervaded it. There was also increased temperature and accumulation of diesel vapors because of the storage of diesel fuel in the basement, poor ventilation and lack of an exhaust system.

The spark

The spark that set off the blast could have come from the use of jumpers on the safety fuse and the presence of open switches, motor pumps and circuit breakers, among others.

As for the findings of Ayala’s consultants that the blast was triggered by a bomb, the DoJ panel said these were matters of defense that should be aired in a trial.

Ayala’s consultants had said that samples taken from the basement contained explosives residue, and that biogas generated by the sump pits could not have caused the blast because the pits were emptied thrice a day. With reports from Alcuin Papa and Elizabeth Sanchez-Lacson