Aid to Glorietta blast victims to continue – ALI

Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) gave assurance yesterday that it would continue to help the victims and families affected by the explosion at the Glorietta 2 shopping mall in Makati City last Oct. 19, which killed 11 people and left over a hundred wounded.

ALI spokesman Alfonso Reyes said relatives of the fatalities and the injured victims are getting all the assistance they need.

“Looking after them (victims and their families) has been our primary focus ever since the incident. We have mobilized our own groups to stay by their side, comfort them, and provide assistance in any way,” he told The STAR as he expressed gratitude to the victims for trusting the company.

Reyes, who veered away from the issue of who’s to blame for the incident, said ALI is providing medical assistance, therapy, and counseling to all victims and their relatives who need help.

He assured the victims that the people who were injured in the blast continue to get medical assistance even after they were discharged from the hospital.

Reyes said business at the Glorietta shopping complex has started to normalize since the explosion.

“Glorietta is recovering quite well, of course (after being) severely affected right after the incident, but it’s almost back to normal,” he said.

People’s confidence is returning to the malls, he added, noting that shops, boutiques, restaurants and other establishments are now recovering.

Reyes said ALI is doing everything to provide temporary stalls for them within Glorietta, at Greenbelt, and at Market Market.

“We also granted rent holidays for the directly and indirectly affected merchants. Twenty percent discount on rentals for October and November to help make up for the lack of people coming,” he said.

It has been almost a month since the Glorietta 2 explosion, which was initially believed to be a terrorist attack but is suspected by police and other investigation agencies to be an industrial accident caused by the explosion of methane gas that leaked from the septic tank and diesel fumes at the building’s basement.

ALI, however, came out with its own investigation report, which contradicted the police theory that the explosion was caused by a methane gas leak.