THE Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the country’s biggest oil companies to relocate their oil terminals in Pandacan elsewhere within six months after the submission of an updated comprehensive plan and relocation schedule.
The Court gave respondents Chevron Philippines Inc., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and Petron Corp. 45 days to submit the plan.
The SC issued the order after it declared as unconstitutional and invalid Manila City Ordinance 8187, which allows the continuous operation of the Pandacan oil terminals by the country’s major oil companies.
In a decision penned by Associate Justice Jose Perez, the Court also directed the Manila City government, headed by Mayor Joseph Estrada, “to cease and desist” from implementing Ordinance 8187.
The Court also directed Estrada to oversee the relocation and transfer in coordination with concerned government agencies, the oil companies and the other parties involved.
At a news briefing, SC Spokesman Theodore Te said the Court adopted its reasoning in its ruling issued on February 13, 2008, which sustained the validity of Manila City Ordinance 8027 that reclassifies portions of the districts of Pandacan and Santa Ana from industrial to commercial and directs certain business owners and operators, including Caltex (Philippines) Inc., Petron Corp. and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., to cease from operating their businesses in the area.
The SC declared that the objective of the ordinance “is to protect the residents of Manila from the catastrophic devastation that will surely occur in case of a terrorist attack [against] the Pandacan terminals.”
It can be recalled that following the February 13, 2008, decision of the SC, the Manila City government approved in 2009 Ordinance No. 8187 “An Ordinance Amending Ordinance 8119,” otherwise known as “The Comprehensive Land Use and Zoning Ordinance of 2006,” in an apparent bid to allow oil companies to remain in Pandacan.
Ordinance 8187, according to the petitioners Manileño Kontra Abuso led by lawyer Vladimir Cabigao and Social Justice Society led by lawyer Samson Alcantara, allows the reintroduction of hazardous, highly poisonous and toxic activities and substances within the Pandacan premises as it reclassifies the area as an industrial zone, thus, allowing the three major oil firms to maintain their oil depots in the 36-hectare area.
Compliance
Petron Corp. and Pilipinas Shell, meanwhile, said they will abide by the SC order.
When sought for comment, Petron Chairman Ramon S. Ang, in a text message, said that “Petron will comply.”
In May, Ang said Petron will spend P15 billion for the relocation. It is eyeing to transfer its oil-depot operations in Rosario, Cavite; Limay, Bataan; and Navotas City.
“By end of 2015, totally we are out of Pandacan. We are law- abiding citizens. When we promised the city government of Manila that within five years we will be moving out of Pandacan, we will. I think we are the only oil firm in compliance to that promise,” Ang earlier said.
He assured that the relocation would not result in any fuel price increase. On the other hand, Ang point out, Petron sees a reduction in operational costs upon relocation of its oil depot to the new areas.
Shell, meanwhile, said it has yet to receive a copy of the SC order. “We have yet to receive the court order to enable us to comment further. Rest assured that Shell will observe the rule of law and good governance.”
Lenie Lectura