Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday called
for an emergency meeting of the National Security Council after a
blast left 8 dead and 89 wounded in a shopping mall in the capital
region of the country.
The explosion took place at around 1:30 PM local time (0530 GMT)
in Glorietta, a classy shopping mall in the country's financial
city of Makati, Metro Manila. The explosion ripped through the roof
of the mall and damaged nearby shops. Debris from the blast were
scattered on the streets.
Eight people have been confirmed dead while 89 others were
wounded in the blast according to reports as of 6:30 local time
(1030 GMT).
The president has ordered the police to "leave no stone
unturned" in its investigation on the explosion.
"The President is deeply saddened by this incident and extends
her sympathies to the families of the casualties. She has also
ordered the PNP (Philippine National Police) to get to the bottom
of things and to leave no stone unturned," Philippine Press
Secretary Ignacio Bunye said in a statement.
Bunye said the President also ordered the Department of Social
Welfare and Development to extend assistance to the victims to
mitigate their suffering.
Local media reported that Gloria herself will go to Makati City
Friday evening to monitor progress in the police investigation into
the explosion.
The blast in the Glorietta 2 ground level was probably caused by
a bomb, Philippine ABS-CBN TV citing PNP chief Avelino Razon
reported.
"This was a bomb. But beyond that we can't say anything else yet
because we are still investigating. What I can say is it was not
[liquefied petroleum gas] that caused this," Razon told
reporters.
Earlier, Geary Barias, deputy chief of the National Capital
Region Police Office (NCRPO) said the blast appeared to be "caused
by an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas)."
Initial information gathered by investigators indicated that the
explosion occurred at the Luk Yuen restaurant at the ground floor
of the Glorieta mall, he said.
When asked if the explosion is linked to terror, Barias said,
"It's hard to speculate, we are still investigating. It appears
that it was caused by an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) but we are
looking if there are other explosives involved."
NCRPO has declared a red alert status in Metro Manila following
the blast. Barias said the blast can be a possible act of
terrorism.
"We will send policemen to other malls to restore order
especially here in Makati and to prevent any untoward incident,"
Barias told reporters.
"The investigation is ongoing and we would have additional
security in the area and other parts of Metro Manila," he
added.
(Xinhua News Agency October 20, 2007)
