P100-M worth of property destroyed in Glorietta blast - report

At least P100 million worth of property in the 3,500-square-meter portion of the Glorietta 2 mall, were destroyed in Friday afternoon's bloody explosion, which killed nine people, and hurt over a hundred others, radio dzBB reported on Saturday, quoting information from officials of Ayala Land Corp. The report also said Ayala Land would increase by 20 percent, the company's 120 guards and personnel guarding Glorietta, and tighten security measures in other malls owned by the corporation. The Ayala management would likewise ask authorities to deploy more bomb-sniffing dogs to the malls. DzBB said Glorietta 1, 3 and 4 were opened to the public on Saturday afternoon, but some portions of the areas remained closed due to utility problems. The corporation estimated that at least P100 million worth of property was destroyed in the explosion within the 3,500-square-meter portion of Glorietta 2. The management continues to assess the damage caused by the blast. Friends and relatives of the victims of the explosion attended a mass on Saturday, with the Ayala family vowing to help survivors and the families of those who died. “Obviously we’re very shocked we felt terrible ... We’re focusing on (helping) the families (of the victims). We leave it to the police to make any statement on what happened here," Fernando Zobel de Ayala said in an interview aired Saturday noon on QTV. - GMANews.TV