THE Lopez-owned First Philippine Industrial Corp. (FPIC) faces additional P200,000 fine per day, on top of the P24-million penalty for the oil leak at the basement of the West Tower Condominium in barangay Bangkal, Makati City, this time for allegedly dumping fuel-contaminated water into the sewage of the city which could affect two other neighboring cities.
Lorna Kapunan, legal counsel for the West Tower residents, told a press forum in Quezon City that a complaint against FPIC was filed with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on August 5 and is now pending with the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) for submission to the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB).
If found to have indeed been dumping contaminated water into the estero and sewage system, FPIC would be again assessed P200,000 per day since the violation would be found to have started, DENR Head Executive Assistant and PAB Secretary Jonas Leones said.
The PAB earlier fined the FPIC P24.2 million for the petroleum leak that started on July 12, 2010, when the leak was discovered until it had been plugged. The leak which forced some 250 residents to abandon the 22-story condominium was believed to have seeped through the ground water in barangay Bangkal.
West Tower residents, led by Thelma Santos and Robert Dimayuga, said the Lopez-owned FPIC and its contractor have been discharging contaminated water from the basement of West Tower building directly into the Makati sewage system.
West Tower consultant Sonny de Castro said that contaminated water being siphoned by FPIC contractor Bensan Industries Inc. from the basement of the West Tower condominium is directly dumped into Estero Tripa de Galina, which flows through the cities of Makati, Pasay and Parañaque.
Worse, the residents said, FPIC contractors tasked to treat toxic wastewater, Waste Solutions and Management Services and CH2MHill, are not authorized to treat toxic waste. Surprisingly, they said, the DENR has justified the questionable actions of the FPIC and its contractors.
The Lopezes own 60 percent of the FPIC, which operates the 117-kilometer pipeline that transport petroleum products that owns an exclusive 25-year contract to transport oil products from Batangas to the Pandacan oil depot in Manila until 2017. Shell Petroleum Co. (UK) owns the other 40 percent.
The P24.2-million penalty was for the violation of Section 27 of the Clean Water Act (Republic Act 9275), which prohibits “discharging, injecting, or allowing to seep into the soil or sub-soil any substance in any form that would pollute the ground water” which carries a fine of P200,000 per day.
