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K-9 units did not find bomb traces at Serendra explosion site — Mar Roxas 


Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas said K-9 units did not find any bomb traces when they scoured the area at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City where a powerful explosion on Friday night killed three people.
 
“Hindi sila nag-register nang positive indication na nagmumula sa karaniwang bomba,” Roxas said in a media conference on Saturday morning.
 
He explained that three K-9 units from the Army, Southern Police District, and National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) did not "bark" or "sit" to indicate that bomb traces were present in the area. 

The residential unit hit by a powerful explosion at Two Serendra in Global City in Taguig Friday night.  YouScooper EJ David
“Sa ngayon 'di pa natin masasabi ang sanhi ng pagsabog na ito... Tsine-check ang lahat ng forensic evidence,” he said.
 
Roxas reiterated that they are not ruling out the possibility that a bomb could have caused the explosion.

Casualty count corrected

During the press conference, Roxas also corrected the casualty count issued earlier on Saturday by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

In an erroenous 8:00 a.m.  report on Saturday,  the NDRRMC said there were six people dead from the powerful explosion the previous night in a residential unit of the Two Serendra condominium at Global City in Taguig.
 
However, during Saturday's press conference just before 11:00 a.m., Roxas said there might have been a miscommunication and that only three people were killed in the blast and five others were injured.
 
One of those injured was Angelito San Juan who was identified to be the person renting out unit 501 of Tower B of Two Serendra where the explosion occurred.
 
Roxas mentioned that San Juan had been complaining to the building administrator that the room temperature in his unit seemed hot and that he felt he was suffocating.
 
However, Roxas cautioned people not to jump to conclusions and urged them to wait for the results of the investigation by the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).
 
Roxas said the SOCO is checking the fragmentation patterns and burn traces to determine the cause of the explosion.
 
He mentioned that auhorities are currently interviewing victims, witnesses and reviewing CCTV footage in the area.
 
Damage to at least 10 condos
 
Meanwhile, an earlier statement from Ayala Land said the explosion damaged at least 10 condo units in Tower B of Two Serendra.

Ayala Land is the property developer of Serendra. In October 2007, an explosion at the Glorietta 2 mall, which is also owned by Ayala Land, killed eight and injured around 100.

In 2011, a Department of Justice fact-finding panel said methane gas, not a bomb, caused the blast.
 
Roxas said the residents and tenants even of nearby establishments and buildings have been evacuated because the government's priority is the public's safety.
 
He added that all utilities including power, water and gas in Tower B and nearby areas have been turned off until DPWH engineers have determined that these are safe for usage.
 
Roxas mentioned that burn marks were found in unit 306 which was directly below the floor of unit 501 located on Tower B's fourth floor. – with reports from Andrei Medina/Gian Geronimo, VVP/HS, GMA News
 
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