So word has it that the so-called Glorietta "bombing" may have actually been an industrial accident triggered by toxic fumes in the mall basement that got a little too close to some electrical wiring: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view_article.php?article_id=96759
On the other hand, the Philippine Inquirer cautions everyone to refrain from rushing to judgment regarding the blast last week until a final conclusion is reached by the investigators charged with analyzing the event and the evidence strewn around the site. In a city notorious for its easily excitable grapevine and coffeehouse conversations that ignite revolutions, well, I imagine that such calls for restraint are, shall we say, fucking pointless.
I'm not sure whether or not to be surprised if the report were to ultimately reveal that the blast was "merely" an industrial accident. The powers-that-be in Manila have never enjoyed a reputation for caring much about their constituents, whom they favor only when election day is near. Considering the deterioration of much of the greater metropolitan area -- save for the plush enclaves of the indifferent rich -- why would anyone be at all surprised that negligence would be the cause of such a tragedy even in the supposedly "secure" city of Makati?
Of course, there is the rather inconvenient fact that the poor often jostle elbows with the rich among the ubiquitous crowds at the Glorietta, so if it were negligence, and assuming that among the 100 or so injured and 11 dead there were a few wealthy patrons, perhaps there will be some justice after all. When you start killing off even the well-to-do patrones, then the justice system sits up and takes notice.
MRA
