by Noel Talacay
A HUGE slab of the wall of the sixth floor parking level of the Jazz Mall in Makati City on Thursday fell on the driveway of an adjoining condominium unit, damaging three private vehicles parked in front of the mall. Two persons sustained minor abrasions.
Makati Police chief Col. Rogelio Simon said the incident happened at around 10:50 a.m. and caused panic among residents of the condominium, who ignored social distancing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement, SMDC, which owns the complex, said the “facade wall of the parking level at Jazz mall sustained damages that caused its outer slab to collapse to the driveway.”
As a safety precaution, residents were directed to stay near Metropolitan Ave.
SMDC added that a “thorough walk-through of the mall premises and residential buildings” on Nicanor Garcia St. and Metropolitan Ave. in Barangay Bel-Air was conducted by the “structural consultant, Sysquared & Associates,” and Makati City engineers, and showed the incident did “not affect the structural integrity of the complex and the buildings are safe for occupancy.”
“The cause of the incident is under investigation and we will take whatever measures necessary to address the situation and avoid any recurrence,” SMDC added, and assured residents it will do everything to ensure the incident won’t be repeated.
The identities of the two persons who sustained abrasions were not disclosed.
Simon said based on their initial investigation, the residents claimed they heard an explosion.
But “we did not see any trace of smoke, fire and bomb; even our Explosive and Ordnance Division at PNP didn’t see any traces,” Simon said.
A witness, Benny Zacarias, said that while he was in his vehicle parked at the loading and unloading bay of the mall, he heard debris falling on the roof of his vehicle. He added that he got out of his vehicle and saw concrete falling, prompting him to run for safety.
