Bulatlat - The Philippines's alternative weekly newsmagazine

This story was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VII, No. 7, March 18-24, 2007

Fil-Ams Welcome SC Decision on Pandacan Oil Depot

Not only are extra-judicial killings in the Philippines an important issue in the United States of America. Even local concerns in the country, at least in the opinion of U.S. concerned citizens and migrants, bear watching.

BY BULATLAT

The U.S.-based Filipino-American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity (FACES) lauded the Supreme Court (SC) of the Philippines for its decision last March 7.

The SC ordered Manila City Mayor Lito Atienza to enforce City Ordinance No. 8027 which would result in the relocation of the Pandacan oil depot of Caltex (subsidiary of Chevron), Petron, and Pilipinas Shell.

FACES described the SC decision as “a victory for the people of Pandacan and fenceline communities worldwide.”

City Ordinance No. 8027 reclassified the land on which the oil depot sits from industrial to commercial, thus forcing the oil companies to cease operation in the area. However, instead of outright removal, the Manila City Government and Department of Energy entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the oil companies agreeing to a “scaling down of operations.”

The SC decision said that the purpose of the ordinance is “to protect the residents of Manila from catastrophic devastation…in case of a terrorist attack.” FACES adviser Jorge Emmanuel, a chemical engineer and environmental scientist, said that the closure of the oil depot is vital not just because of a possible attack but also because of the constant threat of calamity from accidental fires and explosions.

In December 2005, an early morning explosion at Buncefield oil depot seven kilometers from Hemel Hempstead, United Kingdom, resulted in 43 people injured, damage to buildings up to 800 meters away, and the evacuation of over 2,000 people who lived in the vicinity. Unlike Buncefield depot which is surrounded by factories and warehouses, however, the Pandacan oil depot is surrounded by 84,000 residents as well as thousands of students and staff of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) just across the Pasig River. Emmanuel said that if a similar blast were to occur at Pandacan, the devastation would be catastrophic.

“Closure of the oil depot is critical to halt any negative impacts on the public health of Pandacan residents from chronic exposures to toxic pollutants from oil depot operations,” FACES co-chair Galatea King, a public health specialist, said.

Benzene, a known carcinogen and a component of gasoline, was found at high levels in the air around Pandacan.

FACES stressed that the closure of the oil depot should involve proper environmental remediation, ensuring that all toxic contamination of soil, surface water and ground water, coastal areas, and permanent structures are cleaned up to standards appropriate for its reclassification to commercial use. FACES also urged the participation of local residents and other stakeholders throughout the closure process to ensure the development of economic conversion plans that will benefit the residents of the community, preserve the green spaces and bring new jobs to the site while protecting the environment.

“On our part, we will continue to urge Samuel Armacost, chair of the Board of Directors of Chevron, to visit Pandacan, listen to the concerns of the community, and announce specific plans for environmental clean-up and closure of its operations,” FACES co-chair Christine Cordero said. Armacost was elected to the Chevron Board in 1982, the same year his brother, Michael Armacost, became U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines.

Last December, Cordero and other FACES members joined with environmental groups and fenceline communities surrounding the Chevron oil depot and refinery in Richmond, California, to draw attention to the adverse health effects of oil depots on fenceline communities around the world. Bulatlat

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