Debunking an old urban legend

I was in my hotel at the Bellevue in Alabang when I first got a report from my Facebook friends that the Metro Gaisano in the Ayala Center was on fire and thick smoke made it difficult for our firefighters to access the store. Call it unbelievable that the anchor store of the Ayala Center that opened in 1994 was on fire and this was happening just two and a half weeks since the December 23 fire that destroyed the New City Commercial Center Mall in Davao City where 38 people, mostly call center employees perished. Thankfully, there were no casualties in the Metro Ayala fire.

Unfortunately old stereotypes refuse to die. When people learned the Metro Ayala is owned by the Gaisanos, netizens started talking about the fire that destroyed White Gold along Osmeña Boulevard eons ago. That fire created the urban legend that the Gaisanos would burn their buildings to get insurance. Then there was the fire that hit White Gold in the North Reclamation Area years ago, which added more fuel to rumors. These were accusations that were totally unfounded and never proven true. For sure the millennials do not even know about this urban legend.

Some even suggested that the Metro Ayala would remain a burnt hulk just like the old White Gold, but these people do not realize Metro Ayala, while it is an independent building attached to the Ayala Center mall, is owned by the Cebu Holdings, Inc. Hence you can be sure that the Gaisanos will rebuild their facility when they are ready to reconstruct this building.

There is no doubt that when there is a fire, there are fire victims. In the Metro Ayala fire, it is the hundreds of their employees who will be out of work. However, I read in my Facebook page that the Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. (MRSGI) issued an announcement last Saturday assuring their employees that they would be taken care of. I personally know the owners, Dr. Edward and Jack Gaisano to be the most professional retailers in the country, and their clients are very satisfied with their level of service. This is why the Metro Ayala is always full of customers.

Also last November 2015, MRSGI became a listed company in the Philippine Stock Exchange, which means public confidence in this company was very high. The Metro Ayala department store was their anchor store in Metro Cebu, but they have other stores in many areas in the Visayas and in Metro Manila. So there is no question that the Gaisanos will rebuild this burned anchor store. Meanwhile, the rest of the Ayala Center will reopen as soon as the fire department gives them clearance.

If there is anything that makes me proud of our fellow Cebuanos, it is that many people (I will not name them) went out of their way to assist the firefighters of the Bureau of Fire Protection especially that this conflagration took more than 40 hours to suppress. Without being told, people gave food and other items to support our firefighters when they knew that our firemen were all exhausted and would not leave the premises until they could declare that the fire was under control.

Meanwhile, since it is the beginning of 2018, it is high time for all establishments to do their own safety and security checks. For those with sprinkler systems, it is time to check whether they are working or not. It is also time to check on your fire extinguishers whether they are expired or not. Lest you have forgotten, you or your employees should be the first responders to any untoward incident in your edifice or office. I recall that in the past, our building was hit by a fire, but I was able to extinguish those fires even before the fire department arrived.

Also it is high time for the Office of the Building Official together with the BFP to do a cursory check on all establishments whether they have complied with the safety requirements, especially working fire exits. In two months it will be March, the Fire Prevention Month, which should give everyone a headstart to be prepared for the dry season when so many fires happen.