Manila looking to reverse eviction of Pandacan oil depot
Friday, 20 March 2009 03:20
THE PANDACAN oil depot’s continued operation appears all but assured after the Manila city council yesterday approved on second reading an ordinance reversing a 2001 rezoning order.
Councilor Arlene W. Koa, principal author of the proposed directive, said final approval would allow all existing heavy industries in the area, including the oil depot, to continue operating.
"If the proposal is approved, we will allow existing industries to stay and continue their operations," she said.
Yesterday’s vote was 20 in favor of the new ordinance with 11 against.
In 2001, Ordinance 8027 reclassified parts of Pandacan and Sta. Ana into commercial from industrial. Spurred in part by safety concerns arising from the September 11 attacks in the United States, the order also mandated oil firms Caltex Philippines Inc. (now Chevron Philippines), Petron Corp. and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. to vacate the Pandacan oil depot within six months.
Delays in implementing the depot’s closure prompted a militant group to file suit, and last year the Supreme Court upheld a 2007 ruling validating the ordinance, which had been effectively shelved by the court case.
Ms. Koa said she proposed the reclassification following a letter from Phimco Industries Inc., a manufacturer of safety matches and mosquito coils, that was also among the firms affected by the local law barring heavy industry.
Her bill was filed last March 5 and the council’s committee on laws approved it five days later.
Manila city council majority leader Ma. Sheilah Lacuna-Pangan said that the approval of the ordinance would be beneficial as it would allow constituents employed by existing industries to keep their jobs and provide income to the city in the form of taxes and business permit fees..
"This would provide many jobs not just to Manileños but also to others especially since our big problem right now is the current economic situation," she said.
But councilor Jocelyn Dawis-Asuncion, the proponent of the 2001 ordinance, yesterday claimed the council had violated its own laws in approving the rezoning measure. Ordinance 8119, she said, calls for consultations with the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) prior to the filing of the bill.
Ms. Asuncion claimed the CPDO was not in favor of the rezoning and had submitted a position paper stating so to her office. Ms. Koa, however, said the office had been consulted.
The proposed ordinance still has to be approved on third reading by the council before it can be implemented.
In appealing against the oil depot’s closure, the oil firms described Pandacan as servicing 50% of the country’s fuel demand, 70% of the shipping sector’s oil needs, 90% of lubricants and 75% of aviation fuel requirements.
The Supreme Court, in rejecting the appeal, said there was no legal hindrance to Ordinance 8027’s implementation.
