Roxas: Probers focus on Two Serendra blast site, condo occupants interviewed

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas on Sunday said that probers at Two Serendra have focused investigation efforts on the "blast site," after scouring through the street portion of the "crime scene." They hope to gather forensic evidence to determine the cause the strong explosion at the pricey condominium last Friday.

The blast site has remained sealed.

Roxas said the probers also started taking statements of occupants of the third and fifth floors of Two Serendra, where the explosion killed three persons and injured five others. Hours after the explosion, probers who sifted through the debris and analyzed burn patterns from concrete slabs found "no positive traces" of bomb chemicals.

Roxas said all angles were being looked into as police "released the crime scene" late Saturday afternoon, reopening McKinley Parkway Road and portions of a shopping mall's parking lot adjacent to the Serendra complex that was cordoned off Friday.

"Police and fire authorities have thoroughly sifted through the debris scattered at the street portion and concluded the gathering of forensic evidence there," said Roxas in a statement.

The "blast site" or the building remained sealed, he said.

Investigators from the PNP Crime Laboratory, Bureau of Fire Protection and the Explosives and Ordnance Division of the Southern Police District called off Saturday's search for forensic evidence due darkness. They were to resume their tasks Sunday.

"It's better to analyze the blast site when there is light," Roxas said, adding he would call another press briefing "once concrete, verifiable findings have been determined."

A passing delivery truck was crushed by a slab of concrete thrown by the explosion that ripped through a wall of Unit 501B. All three passengers of the truck were killed. The truck smashed into a Starex van whose driver was unharmed.

Probers have asked the building administrator to allow them to interview third- and fifth-floor occupants whose statements are being sought to help police establish a "narrative timeline" or the sequence of events, Roxas said.

The investigators were interested in Angelito San Juan, occupant of Unit 501B. He was in stable condition but remained in intensive care at St. Luke's Medical Center in Global City.

San Juan was on his way out of the unit he was renting when the explosion took place, probers said. He had complained to the building administrator that he was "suffocating" inside the apartment despite having the air-conditioning on.

Police evacuated residents of building B and two adjacent buildings and turned off their power, water and gas utilities in an investigation that Roxas promised would be "scientific."

"We are using science and the knowledge of the different government agencies, including the Army's explosives unit, for us to find out what happened and take steps to prevent this from happening again," Roxas said.

He said the government "wants to ensure the safety of everyone and to determine, on instructions of the President, what really happened."