My daughter and her classmates/friends planned to go today to Trinoma ― the newly-opened mall in Metro Manila built by the Ayala group along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue and just beside Henry Sy’s SM North mall ― as their final get-together activity before the semester ends. As usual, I would stand as her chaperone and I was instructed last night that we will leave by the time she arrived today, that’s 12:30 pm. She found me sleeping so I got up, the driver arrived, we had lunch and in a few moments, the lady I had an appointment with came and eventually left after some talks.

After lunch, as we were not really in a hurry, we turned to the computer to compare our scores in a game site on the internet. I turned on the TV and scanned the channels for something worth watching while passing time.

What followed next planted us in front of the television screen.

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Glorietta 2 from the outside

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Glorietta 2 from the inside

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Victims, rescuers and medical personnel. Casualty report as of 6pm.

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Glorietta 2 from the top. Bottom, photo of AyalaLand Corp. spokesperson Alfie Reyes in an interview

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3 bishops join calls for PGMA’s resignation

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Sen. Trillanes blames the government.

The facts, so far gathered are:

― Two blasts were heard from Glorietta 2 at 1:30 pm today.

― From the PNP: the blast was not caused by an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) explosion but by a type of explosive(s), the specifics of which will be disclosed as soon as all the evidences are in.

― The bombing took place in Glorietta 2, the heart of the Commercial Business District.

― 8 persons were confirmed dead as a result of the blast.

― About 93 persons were injured and the number is still rising; about 45 were sent to Makati Med while the others were brought to Ospital ng Makati. There were 2 foreigners and 2 among the injured are in critical condition.

― AyalaLand authorities stated they will take charge of all the medical requirements of all the injured.

― The extent of the
damage caused by the explosion is massive.

― There had been no security breach in the mall’s security operations according to mall authorities.

― Metro Manila is
declared under Red Alert by the PNP for the next 24 hours.

― 2 days ago an
attempted bombing in Tacurong City, south of the Philippines, was foiled by
police authorities but no warnings were sent out to other parts of the county as to other possible bombing attempts within the week or the month.

― 2000 police personnel will be deployed in Metro Manila starting today for tighter security in the metropolis.

― Terrorism, sabotage, or a call for presidential emergency powers? The investigations will reveal the answers. If anyone still believes these investigations.

― Not one of the victims gave any official statements to police authorities yet.

― No one claims responsibility for the bombing just as yet.

― Sen. Trillanes blames the government for the blast.

― Three bishops seek PGMA’s resignation.

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HIGHEST PRIORITY: Put off plans of going to the malls.

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All images were grabbed from:

1) GMA 7 Flash Report

2) TV Patrol World

3) ANC