Rama to theater owners: Let accident serve as a warning

Dave Tumulak of the disaster office of Cebu City shows on his tablet a photo of the interior of the Cinema 5 after the collapse of part of the ceiling.(CDN/Santino Bunachita)

Investigation on cinema ceiling collapse starts; case vs Ayala  mall mulled

A day after the collapse of ceiling boards of  its newest movie theater and  cascades  of water  drenching the audience below, there’s  little trace of the bizarre incident in Ayala Center Cebu.

The entrance to  Cinema 5 at the rooftop garden  has been blocked off with the mural of a happy girl dancing.

To unsuspecting shoppers, there’s re’s no sign of the accident that injured nine persons on Monday night.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama yesterday said he has instructed the Office of the Building Official (OBO) and the City Engineer’s Office to inspect Cinema 5 and determine the cause of the incident in the mall’s new wing.

He said there was no need to issue a closure order against Ayala Malls Cinema.

He urged all cinema owners in Cebu City to inspect their facilities to avoid a similar incident.

“This is a timely warning for concerned individuals to take a look at our civil structures. What happened to Ayala has a message for  owners of all movie houses,” Rama told Cebu Daily News.

“Ayala, SM – those groups should pay attention to that. They can afford. The problem is there aren’t enough people checking. When I’ll be back (today), I’ll meet with theater owners and representatives for safety and security,” the mayor added.

Acoustic ceiling panels fell along with a heavy flow of water from a busted sprinkler system at about 8:50 p.m. on Monday.

Of the nine injured, five were confined in the hospital. As of yesterday, they were still awaiting medical clearance, the mall management said in a statement.

Rene Cerwin Luarez Ong, operations manager of Dreamscape Networks, had the incident recorded in the blotter of the Mabolo Police Station as a case for multiple physical injuries through reckless imprudence.

Dreamscape, an Australian business process outsourcing (BPO) company, had booked the cinema for an exclusive  company event — a  team building exercise and launch of its new advertising campaign.

About 350 executives and employees were inside the cinema when the ceiling collapsed.

INSPECTION

OBO officials and engineers visited the accident site yesterday.

Assistant Building Official Architect Florante Catalan said they have advised the mall management to suspend Cinema 5 operations.

“Based on our initial assessment during our visit there, something could have triggered the sprinkler system to discharge water and it accumulated water in the acoustic boards,” Catalan said.

He said he has seen ceilings collapse before, but it was his first time to see a ceiling collapse because of accumulated water.

Catalan was with another architect, an electrical engineer, a mechanical engineer and two civil engineers during the inspection.

He said they plan to inspect the area again today to reach the top of the cinema and check the extent of the damage.  As of yesterday, the mall management was still making scaffolding to facilitate the inspection.

Catalan also said they were still waiting for an official incident report from the management.

Rama said he was certain that the mall management was conducting its own investigation.

“I know that with or without me issuing anything, Ayala will do something to fix the problem. They have the best engineers. And I’ll give them the opportunity to perform what they need to do,” the mayor said.

He will meet with the mall’s representatives this morning. The mall is owned and managed by Cebu Holdings, Inc. (CHI), a property developer that is 49.8-percent owned by property giant Ayala Land, Inc.

Cinema 5 is located in the mall’s new wing, which was opened only last December 2013.

Rama will also meet with other movie theater owners in Cebu City.

He stressed the need to inspect all facilities since acoustic ceiling boards cover up the pipes and airconditioning system in movie houses.

“Hangyo lang nako (My request is) they should not be waiting for us. They should be doing their own self-inspection and the city should just re-check,” he said.

Lawyer Jeanette Japzon, CHI corporate communications manager, said those injured sustained minor cuts and bruises.

“This was the first time that it happened in Ayala. We will investigate to secure the safety and security of all our customers. We already called for a meeting with the management and contractors,” she said.

In a statement, the mall management expressed regret over the accident and assured that the safety of its shoppers is a top priority. (See Statement)

Videos on the accident have gone viral on social media. The video posed by Theo Java on his Facebook account drew 785,824 views, 9,301 likes and 31,993 shares as of 9 p.m. yesterday.

Mark Evans, Dreamscape chief executive officer, earlier said a case will be filed against the management. He criticized the management’s slow response, saying it took about 25 minutes before security guards came to their rescue.

Evans sustained a wound on his finger. He helped pull people out of the debris.

The mall serves as the centerpiece of the Cebu Business Park, which was developed by CHI. The company is also the parent of Cebu Property Ventures and Development Corp., which developed the Cebu IT Park, where another mall is under construction./With Correspondents Vanessa Claire Lucero, Apple Mae Ta-as and Joana Belsonda