PNP turns to court as final arbiter

Let the Court decide

The Philippine National Police has taken this stance in response to claims by AYALA LAND Inc. (ALI) that the Glorietta 2 blast on Oct 19 that killed 11 people and injured more than a hundred was not a gas explosion.

Police Director GEARY BARIAS of the NCRPO, yesterday said that the courts would be the final arbiter of what really happened at the Glorietta Malll in Makati and of who should be held accountable.

ALI, owner of Glorietta, rebutted on Sunday the theory that the buildup of methane gas and diesel fumes triggered the blast, citing the findings of its own foreign consultants that contradicted those of the police.

The Police earlier said all the evidence pointed to the gas explosion theory, a finding which was corroborated by the Australian Federal Police, which conducted a parallel investigation.

By law, the PNP is the body that initiates and concludes inquiries into such events. “ Our investigation is official… it cannot be Ayala’s investigation. Somebody has to be accountable for the deaths of the 11 people. They will either be terrorists or other personalities,” Barias said.