After mall cinema ceiling collapse, Cebu City mayor orders inspections

Following the collapse of a portion of Ayala Center Cebu's cinema's ceiling that injured nine people last Monday, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama on Wednesday ordered an inspection of movie houses in the city.

Rama issued the order after meeting with cinema managers, GMA Cebu's Lou-Anne Mae Rondina reported.

During Wednesday morning's meeting, Rama gave the managers one week to hold their respective in-house inspections and submit their findings.

This early, however, some of the managers reassured Rama their establishments are safe.

Also represented in Wednesday's meeting were the Office of the Building Official, Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, and Bureau of Fire Protection.

Nine people were reported injured after a part of the drop ceiling of Cinema 5 of Ayala Center Cebu collapsed. Cinema 5 is the mall's newest cinema.

The management said in a text message sent to GMA Cebu's Nikko Sereno that a sprinkler system may have "released water that caused the acoustic boards to fall."

But Cebu City councilor Dave Tumulak said their initial findings suggested accumulated water from the air-conditioning system may have caused part of the ceiling to collapse.

He also asked why some rescue personnel had difficulty getting inside the mall building.

On Tuesday morning, the city Office of the Building Official inspected the area.

For its part, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office asked business establishments with centralized air-conditioning to hold regular maintenance to prevent a similar incident.

Other inspections

Meanwhile, Rama also ordered Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella and councilor Dave Tumulak to meet with managers of boarding houses to make sure skyscrapers and boarding houses have safety measures in case of fire. — Joel Locsin/BM, GMA News