MANILA -- The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) on Tuesday said there were no affected police stations in Metro Manila following the magnitude 6.1 earthquake on Monday afternoon.
“Based on the ongoing assessment on the damage done by the earthquake, no police stations or structures were affected by the earthquake,” NCRPO director, Major Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, the NCRPO chief, told reporters in a press breifing in Taguig City.
However, Eleazar said Marjorie Laurente, 21, was brought to the Perpetual Succor Hospital after she was accidentally hit on the left arm by pieces of broken glass that fell from the seventh floor window of a building in Sampaloc, Manila.
A report from the Manila Police District said the GAW Building, along Tomas Mapua St., Binondo, Manila slightly tilted and suffered minor damages while water from the roof deck swimming pool of the Anchor Suites along Ongpin Street in Binondo spilled on the road.
"In Metro Manila, we do not see any major problems. Because of the regular conduct of earthquake drills which have been observed by many establishments, it seems many of us are ready for the "Big One", which I hope will not happen. We should take these drills seriously in order for us to be really prepared for the worst," Eleazar explained.
Metro Manila is under full alert status due to the earthquake but Eleazar said it will eventually be downgraded to heightened alert by Wednesday.
“Our police will continue to be on full alert. Kindly report any suspicious behavior and unlawful acts being committed to your police stations or police officer,” Eleazar said.
Meanwhile, Makati Mayor Abby Binay has ordered the Office of the Building Official (OBO) to immediately conduct inspections of all private buildings in the City to determine their structural integrity and other safety concerns following Monday’s earthquake.
In a memorandum issued immediately after the earthquake, the mayor has also instructed the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) to inspect all public buildings and ensure their structural integrity and safety.
The mayor has also called on private establishments to give their full cooperation to OBO inspection teams that were deployed today to conduct rapid damage assessment on their premises.
“All building management and administrators are strictly ordered to allow unimpeded access to the inspection teams and provide the needed information and cooperation to ensure a thorough and speedy assessment,” the mayor stated.
Binay said she has instructed the OBO and the DEPW to submit daily inspection reports for her perusal and appropriate action.
As of this writing, three inspection teams have been deployed to Century City and Rockwell Center, two teams to Circuit Makati, and a team each to Rufino Tower, Pacific Star and Eton Tower.
Inspections are also underway in other buildings in the City Hall complex, UMak and other public school buildings, Ospital ng Makati, barangay halls and health centers, multi-purpose and covered courts, Makati Homes I and II, and other public structures in Makati.
In its latest report to the mayor, the Department of Education-Makati said there have been no reported major damage in most of the schools. Only Makati Science High School and La Paz Elementary School have so far reported minor cracks on the wall of some comfort rooms, and on the perimeter fence, respectively. (PNA)
