Sunday, March 11, 2007 Integrated plan on closure of Manila oil depots sought
SENATOR Manuel “Mar” Roxas III has urged the Office of the President to put together an integrated strategy to ensure a smooth, fair and orderly execution of the Supreme Court (SC) order for the closure of the oil depot of three major oil companies in Pandacan, Manila.
“Where’s the plan? Government has to step in to assure the public that their lives will not be disrupted nor their budgets affected by the closure of this decades-old oil depot,” said Roxas, chairman of the Senate committee on economic affairs.
The SC had ordered the closure of the Pandacan oil depot, citing the dangers that the 30-hectare facility poses to nearby residents. The order came after a petition was filed by the Social Justice Society and Manila residents Vladimir Cabigao and Bonifacio Tumbokon seeking the court’s order to the Manila City Government to enforce City Ordinance 8027.
The ordinance, which called for the dismantling of the depot, was enacted in November 2001 following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on the US.
Roxas said the apprehension of consumers that the relocation costs involved in the transfer of the oil depot will be passed on to them by Petron Corporation, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, and Chevron (formerly Caltex), is valid.
The three oil companies operate the depot, which can hold about 170 million liters of oil and supplies half of the country’s fuel requirements and 90 percent of Metro Manila’s.
Roxas said the integrated plan should contain how the government intends to address problems that could be caused by the transfer of the depot: additional costs due to the transfer, displacement of workers in the depot, as well as other social costs.
He also said the plan should have already been in the works after the government of Manila passed a resolution ordering the dismantling of the Pandacan oil depot.
“I urge the Office of the President to create an inter-agency task force composed of key officials to provide clearer answers to the public on how the SC order will be carried out,” Roxas said, adding that the government must make sure that consumers’ interests and the rights of the workers employed in the Pandacan oil depot are also protected.
He said there is also a security aspect involved in the move-out phase for oil tankers. “This may be too big a transfer for simply the local government of Manila to oversee. Without an integrated approach, this move will affect not only the residents of Pandacan but Filipino consumers and the business community as well,” he said.
Roxas said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Energy (DOE) should also look into how and where the three oil companies plan to transfer to make sure that the new site will not endanger the safety of existing communities. (CPB/Sunnex)
