Roxas: Probers to submit Serendra blast report to DOJ

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II said Thursday the final report of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on the circumstances that surrounded the blast at Two Serendra last May 31 will be submitted to the Department of Justice to determine possible charges that may be filed against any person or company.

“Isusumite namin itong report na ito sa DOJ. Sila ang magpapasya kung itong mga kapabayaan na ito, itong mga facts na nakalap natin sa ating investigation constitutes criminal or legal liabilities by the entities involved,” Roxas said during a press conference at Camp Crame.

He said the investigators focused their attention on the science aspect of the incident, saying that this time lawyers would be the better persons to work on the legal aspect.

Unlike common crime incidents, the blast at Unit 501B of Serendra Two required scientific studies.

Roxas quoted the report of the ITF and of the Kroll Associates Ltd., a private company with expertise on gas explosions, as saying that the blast can be compared to an LPG gas explosion.

The blast happened at unit 501B after the accumulated gas that leaked from the condominium’s centralized vapor system was ignited by the light switch after it was turned on by the unit’s occupant.

The gas leaked after laborers working on a renovation project in a nearby unit moved the gas range, and weren’t able to put back the flexible hose properly.

“Nung ibinalik na, either hindi kinabit nang tama yung hose, or naiwang nasa sahig yung hose,” Roxas said, noting that the action was unauthorized as it wasn’t included in the approved work permit.

Roxas said the unauthorized movement of the gas range was confirmed by three laborers in their sworn statements.

Roxas also said the occupant of the renovated unit was allowed to return to his unit without proper inspection.

The leak wasn’t detected as the building’s gas leak detector and auto shut off didn’t work, either because it was unplugged from a power source, or due to the reported power outage in the building on the day of the explosion, he said.

Moreover, in the study made by the Department of Health, Roxas said the leak didn’t create foul odor as Serendra Two was using vaporized gas system.

Roxas explained that when an LPG is vaporized, it loses the ethyl mercaptan—a component that gives LPG its bad smell.

“ . . . Kaya hindi naamoy ang pag-leak ng gas na ito kasi vaporized system ng gas ang nasa Serendra Two, hindi LPG,” Roxas said.

“Malinaw sa report sa IATF at Kroll kung sino ang mga at ano ang mga pribadong kumpanya na maaaring managot sa nangyaring pagsabog. Isusumite ang nasabing report sa DOJ na syang mag-aaral kung ano ang civil or criminal liability ng mga tao at kumpanyang nabanggit,” Roxas said.

He said the DILG, Department of Energy, Department of Trade and Industry, and the Bureau of Product and Services were asked to come up with standard guidelines for maintenance of gas leak detectors.

The explosion last May 31 killed four people.

Two Serendra is among the 61 residential and commercial establishments in the entire BGC using gas pipe-in systems.