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IN light
of the Supreme Court’s decision on the removal of the
oil terminals in Pandacan, Manila, oil companies Chevron
Philippines Inc. and Petron Corp. said Wednesday they
will exhaust all legal remedies given the stakes
involved.
Petron
public-affairs manager Virginia A. Ruivivar said the
Pandacan terminals serve nearly 50 percent of the
country’s total demand for fuels, including vital
industries such as transport, manufacturing, shipping
and power generation.
“At
present, there are no viable relocation sites that have
the adequate infrastructure [access roads etc.] in
place, accessibility to deep shores and [are] close
enough to Metro Manila to ensure timely delivery of
products,” Ruivivar said.
Chevron
officials will thoroughly review the decision once they
get a copy of the official document.
Mark
Quebral, Chevron manager for policy, government and
public affairs, said the Pandacan terminals are the
“energy lifeline” of Metro Manila and the rest of the
country.
Quebral
said the NCR and other areas in greater
Luzon are important markets that need to be served reliably and
efficiently in a safe and secure manner. Right now,
according to Quebral, Pandacan offers the best location
and the most strategic advantage to meet the standards
for efficient, safe and reliable operations.
“We
assure our customers and the consuming public that we
will remain focused on ensuring that our facilities and
operations continue to adhere to the highest
engineering, operating and safety standards which are
acceptable to the local communities surrounding Pandacan,”
Quebral said. |
