Business as usual at Tutuban Mall

I had an amusing chat with a colleague this afternoon.

She was a little upset why nobody informed her that a fire hit Tutuban Mall where she just spent almost half day just to buy some supplies for our office. She said that if she was only informed, she could have gone to another marketplace and avoided the horrendous traffic jam in Divisoria.

Well, it’s just an irony since she is the first and last person to get a hold of our newspaper subscriptions every day. For two days, an image of the burning mall is printed in the front pages.

All she has to do is R-E-A-D. Or not even read. Just stare at the photos of the broadsheets and you’ll definitely know’s the “hottest” thing happening in Manila today (no pun intended).

But the good side of all her forgettable afternoon, she was able to purchase what’s on her grocery list since it’s business as usual even though the fire in one of the buildings is not yet completely got rid of.

I am sharing the  official statement of Tutuban Properties Inc. in regards to the Cluster Building Incident as of today, September 06, 2012, 10 a.m.:

Collective efforts of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and volunteer firefighters have not ceased since the fire broke out early yesterday morning at Cluster Building. At 10 am today, BFP officials have declared the fire to have been under control.

So effective 10am today, Centermall 1 and 2 and Prime Block buildings have resumed normal or "business as usual" operations, including the Robinsons department store and supermarket. Safeguards are in place to ensure that the resumption of operations will in no way hamper fire control efforts.

We believe that the current situation is but a minor setback in the redevelopment of Tutuban Center. Management affirms its commitment to move towards a new and revitalized Cluster Building.

Hopefully by tomorrow, the headline would go something like, "Tutuban Mall fire under control."

Now, that's one good news for bargain bin hunters like me.