SM OLONGAPO GLASS PANELS BREAK AGAIN, ALARMS PUBLIC

SM City Olongapo’s woes on breaking glass panels continue with two more on Saturday afternoon, following one that broke last last Monday and another one earlier.

Angelito Layug, head of the city Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Office (DRMMO) said SM City Olongapo management asked their assistance in the last two instances.

“We used ladder trucks of the BFP (Bureau of Fire Protection) to access the broken glass panels,” he said, “because they were located on the 4th floor.”

Broken glasses littered the pavement of the sidewalks in the corner of Magsaysay Drive and Gordon Avenue which DRRMO cordoned and cleared for the safety of the public.

Over a week ago, a six-year-old child was hurt in SM City Cebu when he slammed into a glass panel, falling into the food court in the lower level of the mall’s ground level.

The glass panel’s inability to absorb the impact of a six-year-old has raised suspicions that SM may have used inferior quality glass materials, posing danger both to customers and its employees.

Layug said SM City Olongapo’s glass panels may have cracked because of the summer heat.

However, several residents are unconvinced, calling for a thorough investigation on the materials used in the construction of SM City Olongapo.

“They are supposed to use materials that can with withstand heat, if it’s the heat,” said Felipe G. Garcia, 54 of Bgy. New Banicain, “it’s just around 35-37 degrees.”

Meanwhile, SM City Olongapo Public Relations Officer Nette Mortel said the mall is conducting its own investigations on the incidents and the contractors concerned, and will the take necessary actions.

She said no one was injured nor hurt in the “broken glasses” incidents in SM City Olongapo. (VVV)