Mall tenants allowed entry to clean up stores

METRO FIRE  (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)

AYALA CENTER CEBU

Eleven days after fire hit the Metro Department Store at the Ayala Center Cebu, the famous mall remains closed to the public.

Its tenants engaged in retail trade will however be allowed to enter the premises today to clean up their stores, said a CDN source who requested anonymity.

“We are glad of this development. This is a ray of light at the end of the tunnel,” the source said.

The source, who owns a store inside the mall, said they received an advisory from Cebu Holdings Inc. (CHI), the company which operates Ayala Center Cebu, at around 5 p.m., Monday.

“We were told that our store was not affected at all and that we can clean up. We are not sure if we can open on Sinulog day because in crisis situations like this, we prepare for the worst,” said the tenant.

The tenant said the mall management has not given them a definite date as to when the mall will open as safety measures are still being considered.

The source said tenants into the food business were allowed to enter the mall three days ago to clean up.

Thorough check

CHI said a thorough clean up and systems check within the main mall was already completed.

But they are awaiting the complete removal of a damaged portion of the Metro Department Store and Supermarket building, which connects to the main mall.

“We are doing our best to ensure the public’s safety and open the mall as soon as possible. We ask for your continued patience and understanding,” said lawyer Jeanette Japzon, CHI’s corporate communications manager.

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP-7) recommends that the mall remained close until four cooling towers of Metro department store, weighing 60 tons are removed or repaired.

The towers which were destroyed by the fire posed a danger as these were already leaning.

Fire hit Metro Ayala in the evening of January 5. The blaze lasted 67 hours.

Aside from the closure of the mall, portions of Bohol Ave. and Luzon Ave., the roads right in front of Metro department store remain closed to vehicular traffic.

Security personnel have been stationed near the barricaded portions of the roads. When people pass in front of the burnt building, security guards would approach to advise them to take another way.

While Metro has lost its building at the Cebu Business Park, around 500 employees displaced by the fire have continued to work in other Metro stores, said lawyer Vincent Tomaneng, legal officer of Vicsal Development Corporation which operates the Metro department stores.

“We have not yet entered the premises because we have not been given permission by the BFP yet. We are still waiting when we can go in,” he said.

“Of course, there’s a plan to rebuild. But as to the timeline and what kind of construction to construct, we still have not decided,” Tomaneng added.