View presentations of Ayala Land, Inc. and that of the Philippine National Police on the Glorietta Blast special site.

MANILA, Philippines — Officials of Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) refuted on Sunday the theory that a buildup of methane gas and diesel fumes triggered the October 19 explosion at the Glorietta 2 mall that killed 11 persons and injured over a hundred, citing the findings of their own foreign consultants that contradicted that of the police.

Short of saying that the police should revisit the bomb angle in the Glorietta blast probe, Ayala Land suggested that the police abandon their “primary hypothesis” that the combination of methane from the sump pits and fumes from the diesel tank in the basement caused the blast, and implored investigators to look into other possibilities.

Citing the assessment of two foreign experts, Ayala Land Inc. president and chief executive officer Jaime Ayala said the gas buildup theory proffered by the police was “highly unlikely” in light of the conditions in the basement prior to the blast.

“We urge them to really look into other angles to find out what happened,” he said at a press conference at the Intercontinental Hotel Manila. “We all feel the need to explore other possibilities at this point in time.”

But when asked if a bomb could have caused the blast, Ayala only said: “At this point, we don't want to add additional hypotheses.”

Ayala read out the assessment of Stephen Etheridge, a chartered scientist of the United Kingdom's Science Council and an expert on biogas, and Burgoynes, an international consulting firm specializing in forensic probes of fires, explosions and engineering failure.

These were some of their findings (paraphrased for brevity):

* Methane, one of two components of biogas, could not have been produced since it takes microorganisms eight to 10 days to multiply to sufficient quantities. The water in the basement sump pits was discharged to the city sewers “several times a day.”

* The accumulation of biogas, which is 20 percent less dense than air, was unlikely “because it would have vented via the large open stairwell leading to the delivery bay that is open to the street.”

* Biogas could not have been present since the personnel working in the basement did not smell hydrogen sulfide, which is similar to the odor of rotten eggs, and did not experience nausea, and eye or skin irritation on or prior to the day of the blast.

* It is unlikely that a gas explosion in the basement would have caused the severe damage observed in the loading bay area because at the time of the incident, the loading bay was open to the street.

* The diesel tank suffered only “minor secondary damage” with its roof deforming and forming a weld, which is “entirely consistent with it having been caused as the result of the primary explosion,” thus overpressure in the diesel tank “could not have caused the damage.”

* Upon testing by a major oil company, the "flash point" - or the temperature required for the combustion of vapor from a liquid - of the diesel fuel in the day tank was found to be normal at 76 degrees Celsius and within specification.
Ayala also showed a three-dimensional rendering of the basement where the blast was believed to have originated, and pointed out the locations of the two sump pits in one corner and the diesel tank a few meters away.

“It is not septic tank but a transfer pump,” he said. In each of the two sump pits, which at 1.5 X 1.2 X 2.25 meters “is no deeper than my own height,” were two submersible pumps that discharge the wastewater into the main sewer line, he added.

Ayala said the second pump was for “backup, in case the main pump malfunctioned.”

Ayala Land corporate spokesman Alfonso Reyes also showed “before and after” pictures of the diesel tank, which did not appear to have sustained much damage, as well as those of the basement and the loading bay.

At one point, he made a show of emphasizing that the entrance to the loading bay, which led into a staircase toward the basement, was very “open.”

Earlier, the police ruled out the terror angle, saying all the evidence pointed to an accidental explosion as a result of the gas buildup. They cited similar findings by the Australian Federal Police, but maintained that nothing was final yet.

As of the press conference Sunday, Ayala said he had not seen a copy of the Australian police's analysis.

He also reiterated that the company was not negligent in the maintenance of the basement. “Because we are ruling out methane and diesel fumes as the source of the explosion, we don't think negligence is relevant with respect to these possibilities,” he said.

He clarified that the basement was actually under the direct control of Makati Supermarket, which has a land-lease contract with Ayala Land, though both tenant and landlord were responsible for the maintenance of the building.

“ALI and Makati Supermarket are both involved in maintenance procedures. Makati Supermarket contracts a maintenance firm and ALI provides, through the expertise of the Ayala Property Management Corp., technical assistance and supervision of the facilities,” Reyes said.

Ayala said: “We work closely with Makati Supermarket, which has been a partner of ours for many years.”

He said only a few people had access to the basement: two maintenance men on day or night shifts, a janitor, and two roving security guards who checked the area every hour for 24 hours. Supervisors and engineers also checked the basement operations "from time to time." /Inquirer