THE Pandacan oil depot, taken from this point, is uncomfortably close to residential communities in Manila; and the Supreme Court thinks this threat to public safety swamps all other cost considerations. --NONIE REYES

SAYING billions of pesos that oil companies stand to lose is nothing compared with the possible loss of many lives in case of terror attacks, the Supreme Court (SC) Wednesday affirmed its 2007 decision ordering the Manila City government and the oil firms to facilitate the relocation of the 36-hectare Pandacan oil depot.

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.

THE slowing down of the United States economy and the fallout from the political noise generated by on-going corruption investigations won’t affect the Philippine economy much, as remittances of more than 8 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) keep flowing and a “good team” of economic managers is in place. If there is one risk that could still impact on the economy, it’s the prospect of rising oil prices. This was how James Dy, president of the Filipino-Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, assessed the current situation of the country in an interview with Bloomberg TV in Hong Kong Wednesday.

BELIEVING the best gift to a loved one this Valentine’s Day or any other day is health, an alliance of doctors and members of civil society launched Wednesday a free online “stop-smoking” service to help curb what the World Health Organization (WHO) reported to be the cause of 1 billion deaths in the last century.

THE Department of Finance (DOF) has backtracked on its original ruling and decided that Pall Mall manufacturer British American Tobacco (BAT) be levied the highest possible excise rate of P26.06 a pack, instead of only P6.74 as it previously decided.

The decision capped a year of struggle between Jeremy Flint, BAT general manager in the Philippines, on one hand, and everyone else in the tobacco industry, on the other, about how the foreign brand should be taxed.

IS Finance Secretary Margarito Teves preparing to resign? The question has been floating around business circles since Wednesday morning, coincidentally just after Teves was again criticized by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, a ranking member of the Commission on Appointments (CA).

THE World Bank’s International Finance Corp. (IFC) is now working with the Quezon City government on how to reduce the number of informal enterprises in the area by simplifying local business regulations and help the city jack up further its revenue collections.

PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific have asked the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to allow them to increase their fuel surcharge for short-haul flights.

PAL asked for an $8 increase for one-way trips to China. At present, the surcharge is $38 so that if granted, the new fuel surcharge will be $46. The flag carrier also wants to hike the surcharge for its Taiwan flights to $20 from $17; and Singapore, to $25 from $22.

PRESIDENT Arroyo is expected to announce next month when she visits Hong Kong the full details of the sale of the long-planned OFW bonds meant to help migrant workers conserve and invest safely their savings.

CEBU CITY—Cebu businessmen reiterated their role in supporting anticorruption drives and in promoting business for smaller entrepreneurs in response to critical comments made by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña on Tuesday.

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Say it with flowers People from diff erent places buy flowers at the Dangwa area on Dimasalang Street in Manila to get better prices as the hype over Valentine’s Day caused prices to spike the past week. --KAT PAGUIO