The Unlawyer

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo visited the surviving malls of the Ayala Center’s Glorietta complex yesterday, the site of last Friday’s tragic Glorietta 2 explosion, in an unmistakable show of support for its beleaguered owner Ayala Land. Her visit also supplied a boost to the Philippines’ burgeoning retail trade as well, threatened as it is by the specter of lost business. Philippine retailing contributes anywhere from 10 to 12 percent of GDP.

Not everyone, however, was impressed – all right, the President’s shopping tour had more of the trappings of a state visit than a leisurely stroll – but her afternoon trip should help restore confidence to apprehensive Philippine shoppers.

Meanwhile, Ayala Land said that it was highly unlikely that a combination of methane gas and diesel fuel fumes caused the explosion, a theory that Philippine police are strongly leaning to. Nevertheless, the company said that it is ready to face the music, if it comes to that.

What I find disturbing is that the authorities are publicly speculating what the findings of their foreign counterparts, namely the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Australian Federal Police, will be regarding the cause of the explosion.

“Sought for reaction, both the Australian and American embassies declined to comment on [Southern Police District director Chief Superintendent Luizo] Ticman’s claims.

““We are assisting the PNP investigation but until that is finished we won’t be engaging in any speculation,” Ezekiel Enrique, public affairs officer of the Australian embassy in the Philippines, said in a text message to INQUIRER.net.

“The public affairs office of the US embassy, also in a text message, said: “[The] US government has provided technical assistance to the PNP. However, we await to hear the final findings of the investigation team.””

Manolo earlier linked to Tongue In, Anew’s entry that explains why an explosion caused by diesel fuel is very unlikely.

Here’s an interesting wrinkle to this developing story: PNP probes army official who found plastic bag with RDX.

“The initial discovery prompted the National Security Council in its meeting last Saturday to announce that it found traces of RDX at Glorietta 2. The NSC later retracted its statement when bomb experts discovered no traces of RDX at the mall and has strong theory that the incident was an accident.”

The PHP 10 million peso reward headline comes courtesy of this GMANews.tv article, which is based on the sums offered by the government, police, and private individuals both here and abroad.

In other news, chalk this story in the “Who Do They Think We Are” column: League of provinces: ‘Cash gifts’ came from us, an explanation that caused some governors to scratch their heads in confusion: 6 Visayas govs unaware of LPP ‘capacity building’ fund.

One oppositionist also said that the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) officials who made the announcement may have inadvertently inserted their feet in their mouths, with potentially unpleaseant consequences:

“The LPP is funded by contributions from member provinces, and the contributions are taken from the budget of the provincial governments. These are public funds, and should be subject to auditing and standard disbursement procedures,” [Makati City mayor Jejomar] Binay said.

“Binay said he found it very odd that the LPP treasurer, Rizal Governor Casimiro Ynares III, was not aware that disbursements were made from the League’s “Capability Building Funds.”

““Governor Ynares should know about the disbursements since he is required to sign disbursement vouchers and checks. It is indeed puzzling that the LPP treasurer is not even aware that money was released from the league’s funds and allegedly distributed to the governors in Malacañang,” Binay said.”

It also looks like Palace officials are taking the LPP’s word on the matter and will leave the group to its own devices.

Overseas, South Korea finally admits what many have long suspected all along: Seoul admits KCIA’s involvement in 1973 abduction of Kim Dae-jung in Tokyo.