NCRPO chief rules out bomb, eyes gas leak in Glorietta blast

(Updated 12:31 p.m.) The police on Tuesday ruled out bombing as the cause of last Friday's Glorietta 2 incident saying investigators found no bomb indicators. Director Geary Barias, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), said the deadly blast was more likely triggered by gas that leaked from the mall's basement. "The Philippine Bomb Data Center, together with the EOD (explosives and ordnance division) and SOCO (scene of the crime operations), completed yesterday (Monday) the post-blast investigation," Barias said in an interview over radio dzMM. Barias said the significant findings are the following: 1) no traces of Improvised Explosive Device component were found; 2) there was no crater found; and, 3) there was no ventilation at the basement for air circulation. "What I can say is it's very difficult to support the theory of (bombing) in the absence of the two critical things," Barias said in referring to the first two findings. Barias said the physical effects of the incident support, on the other hand, the gas explosion theory, particularly the upward direction of the blast. "The petro-chemical experts also examined the layout of the fuel tank and their finding is that it did not follow the standard cylindrical structure that would cause an even distribution of the pressure. Their tank is rectangular and this might have contributed to the explosion," he said. Asked about the liability of the basement operator, Barias said: "That should be a necessary consequence of the investigation because people died and people were injured. So there should be some criminal liability and civil liability for that." The investigators, however, have yet to identify those who have responsibility over the facility. The blast left 11 people dead and over a hundred others injured. Also on Tuesday morning, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo convened the National Security Council (NSC) as she asked for updates from her top officials about the Glorietta 2 explosion. QTV Balitanghali quoted Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno as saying that there was "high certainty" that last Friday's explosion was indeed an accident. Radio dzBB said Director Gen. Avelino Razon, Philippine National Police chief, told the President during the NSC meeting that investigators have not dismissed the bombing angle even though evidence at hand tended to show a different cause. Razaon was quoted as saying that the probe has not been concluded and that all possible angles were being checked. He said the PNP was still awaiting inputs from forensics experts who have been helping examine the blast site. He said investigators have yet to recover any bomb components. What was believed to be a crater on the floor, Razon said, was actually a stairwell that led to the basement. President Arroyo reportedly conveyed that she was satisfied with the investigation findings so far, but ordered the PNP to continue coordinating with experts from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and Australia. In a related development, Puno ordered more inspections of malls, condominiums and similar structures in the wake of the incident. National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales was now inclined to believe that the Glorietta explosion was an accident and not an act of terror, which he earlier suspected was the cause. He advised building owners to inspect their structures's basements to prevent a repeat of Glorietta incident.- GMANews.TV