OH SH**...
Literally. The Washington Post reported that the explosion in Glorietta 2 mall was not caused by terrorists but by Ayala Mall's inadequate sewage system which likely created a methane explosion similar to the one in Guadalajara, Mexico in 1992.Now one might instinctively and quite insensitively react with an "Oh thank god it wasn't a terrorism plot." - let's not lose sight of the big picture here. Although this may no longer seem like a local security issue (To: Senator Trillanes and all the other conspiracy theorists who sure look like morons now. Please go die.), this now brings up larger issues of proper urban planning and overdevelopment. And how ignoring the importance of such issues can not only cause inconvenience, but ultimately cost lives.
And if this methane-gases-due-to-human-waste theory proves itself to be true, considering that this is Ayala Malls, the country's supposedly most prestigious real estate development corporation that supposedly prioritizes issues such as these, can you imagine what the sewage system of less "prestigious" developments might look like? Just think about what horrors lurk underneath MegaMall or worse, Robinson's Malate and Galleria. People of Summit Media, you know what I'm talking about. The underground parking lot of your offices in Galleria really are Dante's seven levels of hell. And I'm already being kind.
Malls are not only the ones who commit crimes of improper crap disposal as well. Residential developments such as the uberuglyoverdone Malate Bayview and uberoverpriced Serendra still need to prove to us that they have their sh** together before we can trust that they won't create another tragedy like Glorietta 2.
And it has to be a community effort to demand such things such things as proper urban planning and sustainable waste management. We Filipinos just have to start looking beyond ourselves and take responsibility for the crap we create. I mean, look at how shamefully we litter our cities and countrysides. Total proof that we might really be a primitive, uncivilized people incapable of understanding the workings of the world around us. And class, money and power are not the issue here. Just take a walk through Binondo, there is so much money on Calle Ongpin yet it's tenants allow feces to freely flow in full view between their streets. The will should not only be political but of the people as well.
Ultimately we should all realize that sewage is serious sh** and just because we flush the it down, doesn't mean that it's going away. Period.
Evidence that I might be warming up to Mayor Lim. He allowed a study to determine the humanitarian disaster that was Mayor Atienza's birth control ban. Thank your Rina for writing about it.
Oh, and remember the Australian journalists booked at the Peninsula who cancelled after the bombing? Well, they decided to come and visit anyway. What a hardy bunch. Toured them last Monday as scheduled. Lovely folks. Nary a whinge at all. Australians rock.
posted by carlosceldran @ 12:30 PM
24 Comments:
sabi sa inquirer a few months ago only 7% of metro manila is connected to a sewerage system. everyone else has a septic tank which when full they just empty into the soil.kaya na-contaminate ang groundwater natin.what's disturbing is, wala nang gagawin ang gov't sa mga septic tanks na yan. they'll just make sure all the newer buildings will have proper septic tank designs. yuck.
Hello.
This may be inappropriate, pero I laughed out loud when I read your comment about Trillanes.
Cheers!
Creole
I agree with you on our placing low priority on proper disposal of our trash and sewage.
People from all age groups dispose of litter anywhere as if they would disappear by themselves. Take a trip to Taal and Mt. Banahaw, and you would find garbage everywhere. We have no respect for our land and its natural resources at all. Grabe.
About the Binondo thing...I work there and the situation is absolutely despicable.
hmm i'm not quite sure about the methane gas angle. chemical engineering professors from UP are debunking this by saying that such an explosion would cause a stench similar to rotten eggs. That makes sense doesnt it? There appears to be none though.
amen to better urban planning -or a least strategic city thinking.
as to sewers, the private utilities are tasked with expanding the system. Manila Water is already laying the groundwork.
are we any messier than any other city/people in the world? do we "respect nature less" -no more than people, I think. Have you walked about lower manhattan before the street cleaners pass through? same with boston. and don't get me started on LA.
there's also hope -we only have to look 150 years or so back to see the horrors that were life in pre-sewerage and sanitation Paris and London.
I find we tend to blame our "cultural faults" too easily instead of learning lessons from other cities and moving forward.
UDC
Carlos, I thought of the same thing right when the news came out that it's still bad even if it was not a bomb but instead a sewage/technical fault or accident.
Whatever it is, there is no sigh of relief or better in this. Lives were loss and people, our own countrymen were hurt. Also, it's horrible to think that this thing could have been so prevented if they just had a better system, process and planning, and also simple caring and the people to take care of this being responsible and professional.
Some blame that it is cultural faults, and some blame lack of education or ignorance, but just like how basura is a mixture of things, it is both. The cultural aspect shows that people around the world are still primitive like, and the sad thing is some don't notice that they are being that way. But maybe some are not primitive, maybe it's because the world is getting worse that people are getting worse as well.
The education aspect is how people may have learned already or know when something is bad, but they just go ahead and do the bad anyways. This is the bad side of "bahala na." But anyone from around the world is like this as well.
This shows that this case is too complex and brings up too many issues. I think it goes back to how we really have to start scaling back too much focus on cities because it clogs up the place, which not only creates more pollution (since some people don't care in the first place - rural or city), and it ends up making those groups build new "developments" which leads to greed, bad planning and maybe even unsafe planning.
I think we need to just think very simply the next time we are dealing with basura. Just remember this the next time you have to throw away something: "Even if I put it in the wastebasket, it's not going to take care of itself and it will not disappear on its own, so what more if someone were to dump it on the ground?" Dispose properly!
hi! yes, there is an angle now that it could have been an accident but its still not final and is still doubtful. wat the washington post reported was info coming from the local authorities here. i would have believed it if some other people like the fbi or other foreign experts stated it. as for now im still not convinced that it was an accident. what about the initial pronouncements that traces of RBX (an ingredient of C4) was found? what happened to that? and, yeah, what about the opinion raised by the up experts? my own cousin who is an architect has discussed this with his engineer friends and they disagree with the accident theory. they say that it is possible but not likely. they said that you would need to collect a lot (super dami) na methane gas for that to happen. and that is unlikely to happen because in a sewage treatment facility the sewage is continuously moved around by the facility thus preventing a collection of methane gas. further, if ever it does happen, the explosion wouldnt be that strong. they also debunked the explanation of local investigators about the diesel mixing with the methane. my cousins friends said that you would need to heat up diesel to a very very high temperature in order for it to be turned into a gaseous state.
i pray that it is really an accident but if its not i hope for the sake of the country, especially of those who died and were injured, that the truth comes out and that the perpetrators are punished.
Wow, definitely agree with Carlos and Urbano...better Urban Planning and learning from our past and that of other nations. However, it all boils down to the powers that be in the Philippines and how responsible they/we are.
What really scares me is the Serendra (Ayala Land)...if this is indeed an industrial/structural negligence (and I'm moving there in a few months), I'm hoping Ayala Land utilized the best materials and construction company. Sometimes it's possible to let profits overshadow safety by unscrupulous business people. The Ayala family are a proven noble and philanthropic family--true illustrados and what I would call ELITE. (This word in the Philippines is so over used that we forget its true meaning and apply it to anybody with money, stolen money.) But I digress, my concern is that other business entities involved with Ayala Land projects are beyond Ayala Land's control. I'm just hoping Ayala Land will have a better Quality/Safety Inspection Department for all its real estate ventures. Now I wanna know where the septic tank is, if any, in Serendra or if my unit is directly underneath any flammable tanks.
And you are actually buying that gas theory? You're better than that. What everybody has is still inconclusive so please don't talk about urban planning as the solution. Why don't you take up the subject with Senator Pangilinan?
I just feel so sad with what happened here.
Galleria is a planner's nightmare. in one of the parking levels, we once saw black, thick liquid seeping from the garbage that was just nearby. The employees of Summit are constantly exposed to the exhaust pipes of the foodcourt and heaven knows what else. the owners of that mall and Summit as well need to start some serious rethinking.
Hahaha, loved your comment on Trillianes.
But yeah, its sad that this was caused by improper waste management. What more, it backfired to the wrong (innocent) people.
Just my humble opinon... but is a "study to determine the humanitarian disaster" (ie Atienza's ban) really necessary? Why not just spend the money to DO something about it instead of analyzing and studying the impacts? I thought they'd be pretty obvious....
I hate Trillanes, and all those who "look like him!" He's a coward.
Have you ever noticed the highly questionable venting system they have over at the Park Square 1 and 2 parking garages? It's absolutely noxious. The fumes from cars, air-conditioning units and restaurants venting into the parking structure is bad enough for people inside their cars. But there are people who work on the exit ramps of every level of those parking structures: cashiers that collect money sitting on makeshift podiums and exposed to the billowing smoke and fumes without the benefit of a ventilated booth for protection. Sometimes I see them fanning themselves, trying to dispel the heat and smoky barbecue smell assailing them as they're trying to work. Isn't there a Philippine equivalent of OSHA?
Carlos, I agree with you totally. Although the investigation isn't finished, the evidence shown seems to point to a gas leak and not a bomb. There was even a terrorism expert from Israel who went to the site. Based on what he saw, he's convince that the blast was cause by a gas leak and not a bomb. There are FBI and Australian police investigating this. We should all wait for the results. Meanwhile, we should tie up Trillanes and dump him in the nearest septic tank.
I totally disagree with the statement above, "tie up Trillanes and dump him in the nearest septic tank."
First of all, his physical presence alone will contaminate the sh*t inside the septic tank. Secondly, his acid tongue might make the sewage beyond biodegradability. Lastly, all his hot air and arrogance will only expand the limited space inside a septic tank, which might itself cause an explosion.
Aren't soldiers in the gallows obligated to clean latrines with a toothbrush? That's what this stupid anarchist deserves.
my gahd! those who insist on doubting the accident angle miss the point of this entry. it tempts me to stoop down to their level and speculate on their motives.
"it tempts me to stoop down to their level and speculate on their motives"
anak ng tipaklong naman, ang yabang mo, "stoop down to their level" ka pa?...we're in the philippines and fictions can be facts and facts can be fiction...our country is so crazy anything is possible...
Trillanes and all the people who voted for him should all be packed in an empty ship and sent to Burma.
Please, wag na nating damayin ang Burma, marami na silang problema. Send him to hell instead.
This might be a bit late.. It's been more than a week since the non-terrorism related explosion at Glorietta but the security around the malls are tighter than ever. Going inside one of these malls has become such an ordeal with lines forming outside the entrances. Do the guards even know what they are looking for? Shouldn't they be inspecting the toilets for methane leaks? Ayala malls seem to be the most strict in implementing the entry checks since they still would not buy the methane theory (for insurance purposes perhaps?).
When I first heard the news about the explosion, an accident was the first thing that came to my mind. And it wasn't hard for me to believe the later findings because everytime I go to Glorietta (which is just 3 to 4 times a month), there was always a minor fire or there's always something that smells like something was burning. But I remember also encountering one or two bigger fires at the mall that the hallways were already covered with smoke and salesgirls panicking for help. Glorietta Mall is old.
Nice Trillianes!!!! Im proud of you to be a filipino. Because what you did will only show that you are already tired in the rootless presedency of Mrs Arroyo. You're so brave than any other generals. Walking in the street without the fear is one of the cahacteristics of true filipino. But you is different, you are the modefied one, because you also think for the safety of others. How come that there people who cannot understand the real meaning of sacrifice-for the country. If in fact you can just live happily without getting in the way of Mrs Arroyo. I am proud of you! Thank you for being a Filipino! LONG LIVE MAGDALO!!!! --Patrick--
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