6 hurt as debris fall from upper floor of hotel in Pasig

MANILA, Philippines–Six people were injured on the ground after they were hit by debris from the upper floor of a hotel in the Ortigas Business District in Pasig City Wednesday night, according to authorities.

The injured–Pauline Gaen, 24; Kenneth Gaen, 25; Michelle Fulgencio, 26; Irene May Vicentillo, 29; Michael Edward Bauson Jr., 29; and May Kristine Paisano, 20–were rushed to nearby The Medical City for treatment after they sustained bruises and lacerations.

As of Thursday, five of them have been discharged, Senior Police Officer1 Edward Maylas, case investigator, said but one remains in hospital.

Ilaine Rodriguez, property manager of Malayan Plaza Hotel, located on ADB Ave. corner Opal Road, told the police she saw “pieces of plaster” from the 34th floor of the building suddenly fall to the ground at 6:15 p.m.

Authorities, however, said it was still unclear what caused the plaster to break away.

The incident took place almost two weeks after the one-year-old Cattleya building on Kaayusan Road in Manggahan Village shook, causing around 100 of its residents to panic and run out of their units in the wee hours of May 3.

Cattleya building is around six kilometers from Malayan Plaza.

A huge crack was discovered on the ground floor of the building but authorities had ruled out that the vibrations were caused by a reported landslide at a neighboring construction site for a city housing project.

No earthquake was also recorded in Metro Manila that day. With a report from Mariejo Ramos