|
IF
there’s any good that should come out of the October 19
explosion in Glorietta 2, it should be this: that it
must represent a wake-up call to all parties concerned
with public safety—the businessmen who own and operate
malls, their tenants, and the regulators of national and
local government agencies.
The
wake-up call applies whether or not, at the end of a
long investigation, it’s determined that this was an act
of terrorism or sabotage; or simply the outcome of
recklessness or incompetence or greed, or a combination
of all, in much the same way that some theorists point
to a deadly combustion in the mall basement that fateful
Friday.
Listening to Mr. Jaime Ayala presiding at a press
conference caught live on ANC, one gets the sense that
here is someone on top of the situation, steering his
company through crisis while sincerely helping anyone
with an interest and a duty to know the truth about the
tragedy, to ascertain the facts.
He
stressed at least twice that the international
conglomerate where he works has always done right by the
people; that is, it has conducted business in the most
law-abiding and ethical way and, we might add, taken
care to share its profits with people through various
corporate social responsibility initiatives.
More
specifically, he stressed that insinuations the Ayala
commercial center management had been reckless fly in
the face of numerous awards for public safety given by
various organizations, and a “triple ISO certification
in all aspects” of public safety given to the Ayala
Property Management Corp. that manages the mall.
Fine. No
debating with all that; but for a while there, or at
least from Monday till late Tuesday, the Ayala
management was perceived as being not fully cooperating
with public authorities, especially when Makati City
Hall asserted its right—nay, duty— to have its safety
inspectors go through the whole complex and ensure there
are no similar “accidents waiting to happen,” or any
lapse that may make it easier for a terrorist or
saboteur or plain reckless personnel to cause further
future damage to any part of the vast shopping complex.
That
apparent reluctance to let city inspectors work side by
side with their private “foreign and local experts” was
made worse by the ill-timed shopping trip of President
Arroyo through the mall, escorted by Mr. Jaime Ayala no
less.
Palace
press handlers said the President meant to signal to the
public that it’s time to get on with our lives—that
terrorists or other evildoers can’t paralyze us, etc.
Yet the signal is ill-timed because, one, the
“terrorism” angle still had to be proven and, if reports
are to be believed, had taken a back seat to the more
probable slant of an industrial accident. Second, she
had no business saying it was safe to go there if public
experts had not yet fully certified the place was safe.
At that
time of her trip, City Hall inspectors had not yet been
able to do their work because the mall management wanted
its privately commissioned experts to be the ones to
certify.
The
whole complex is not a private republic. It’s a public
place, and the city government must satisfy every person
who goes there that it has done its job as safety
regulator. The Ayala management may indeed have an
impeccable, certified record in ensuring public safety
in all aspects, but there’s no sense even attempting a
shortcut at this point; yes, not even for the excuse
that businesses are losing.
The
Ayalas have given all their data to authorities,
impliedly debunking earlier information from probers
that there was some industrial failure here. Mr. Jaime
Ayala discussed at length data on the diesel tank, the
ventilation, the ambient room temperature, the grease
trap and the “sump pit” (for submersible pump and pit)
in an apparent effort to signal that wastewater from the
five restaurant kitchens and human waste going to its
collection systems underground have not been allowed to
accumulate to dangerous levels.
But if
the theory of an improperly maintained diesel tank and
waste-collection system being behind an accidental
explosion is indeed debunked by the mall management’s
data, such only means probers must look for other
causes. Hence, there’s no room for shortcuts, because
whatever was at the root of the tragedy must be known to
all, in order to prevent a repeat—not just in Makati but
in all other key cities as well that host such humongous
malls where millions of people converge daily.
The
sooner we know the truth, the better; Ayala management
has bravely said it will deal with whatever consequences
as a responsible corporate citizen. Fine. But for now,
it’s best to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing
but.
And the
news report at press time, about a thorough inspection
being ordered in all other malls, is a welcome
development. If businessmen worry that government
inspectors—whether those regulating safety or
tax-compliance personnel—will only engage in mulcting,
they can always throw the book at them.
Christmas is nearing, and before we let the malls host a
predictably doubled volume of human traffic, it’s best
to be sure there are no accidents waiting to happen; or
no lapses that may be taken advantage of by terrorists,
saboteurs and all sorts of evildoers.
At the
end of the day, any attempt to shortcut safety checks
could only be more costly for anyone. |
