PHILIPPINES: Bomb threat in Philippines stock exchange building forces tenants to evacuate

Record ID: 356514

  • Title: PHILIPPINES: Bomb threat in Philippines stock exchange building forces tenants to evacuate
  • Date: 22nd October 2010
  • Summary: MANILA, PHILIPPINES (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (OCTOBER 21, 2010) (REUTERS) SECURITY GUARD STANDING IN FRONT OF AYALA TOWER ONE BUILDING (HOUSING STOCK EXCHANGE) LOBBY VARIOUS OF OFFICE WORKERS WALKING OUT OF BUILDING OFFICE WORKERS GOING DOWN STAIRS OFFICE WORKERS OUTSIDE BUILDING OFFICE WORKERS STANDING IN PARK OFFICE WORKERS WALKING OUT OF BUILDING OFFICE WORKERS WALKING I
  • Embargoed: 6th November 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Philippines
  • Country: Philippines
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVA6LSBXOU8SXRF74Z5N3KRU6FJ3
  • Story Text: A bomb scare in a building housing the Philippine Stock Exchange forces office workers to evacuate.
    People were allowed back into the office building housing the Philippine Stock Exchange after it was evacuated earlier on Thursday (October 21) due to a bomb threat, a Reuters witness said.
    Shortly after noon (0400 GMT), workers were allowed to return to their offices in the Makati City building, about two hours after being evacuated when a stock exchange employee received a bomb threat in a telephone call.
    Jose Delos Santos, police chief for the southern district of metro Manila, told Reuters a search did not find a bomb.
    He said they have cleared Ayala Tower One, located in the heart of the business district, and were scouring the surroundings. He told Reuters they believed it was a prank call, but took it as a "serious matter" anyway.
    Tenants of the 35-storey building evacuated in packs before noon, after a loud speaker advised them of the security threat. Several big firms, including ING, Deutsche Bank, Bloomberg, and Ayala Land, hold office in Tower One.
    "We just got notified to vacate the building because there was a bomb threat," Renato Locsin, an employee of ING bank told Reuters.
    Trading at the stock exchange had been halted due to the threat, but was to resume at 1:00 pm (0500GMT) for one hour. Normal trading hours are 9:30 a.m. to noon.
    "First the trading floor personnel was evacuated. Then after 10-20 minutes, all the occupants of the building," trader Carlito Naval said.
    Office workers evacuated at a steady pace, and said they were not scared. Most of them waited out the security checks in a park outside the building.
    "They told us it was not a drill, because oftentimes there are drills. So we evacuated," Cristan Burgos, a messenger from Ayala Corporation said.
    The main stock index, which hit a record high of 4,253.75 on Oct 11, was up 1.3 percent at 4,245.61 when trade was halted. The index is up 39 percent this year.
    The stock exchange is in the Tower One building in Makati, Manila's upmarket business district. It is owned and operated by Ayala Land, a unit of Ayala Corporation, the Philippines' oldest conglomerate.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register