After I posted Project No. 4: Some thoughts on fuel price hike, I realized that last year, I actually wrote a paper for Investigative Journalism, an elective in my masters in communications program.
For my final project, I wrote about the relocation of the controversial Pandacan oil depots; an issue that was resolved early this year by the Supreme Court, ordering the the three major oil companies (Caltex, Petron & Shell) to move out of Metro Manila.
Although I am not as (emotionally) affected by the fuel price hikes, since I sold my car two years ago, I am still concerned with the imminent effects that the relocation of the oil depots will have on the general populace - some of which are discussed below.
I would like to share this paper with you, dear reader, because I believe that everyone has the right to know the arguments involved in this issue. Because the document is lengthy, I broke it down to three parts, which you can also find under Commentary on the right side of the page.
Special thanks go out to the people who gave their precious time for the interviews. This paper would not have been possible without you.
*****
Pacifico Eugenio is the oldest resident of Barangay 834, a fence-line community of Shell Philippines in Pandacan, Manila. Kagawad Pacing, 82, as the 3-term local official is fondly called, lives a few meters beside one of the largest depot facilities in the country, but he insists that these infrastructures pose no eminent danger to his residence or that of his neighbors.
“Alam mo, dito na ako ipinanganak. Yan ang original naming bahay nung araw. Walang nangyari sa aming gulo dito … Yung mga depot na yan nakakatulong pa sa tao yan. Wala silang hangad na pasabugin yan dahil madaming tao dito sa Pandacan ang nakikinabang dyan. (I’ve lived here all my life. That’s my original house. Nothing bad has ever happened to us here … the depot help the people in the community. They have no desire to bomb them because a lot of people in Pandacan benefit from them),” claims Kagawad Pacing.
Kagawad Pacing holding a press release where
he was recognized as one of the original Pandacan residents
The old man’s reaction comes in light of the ongoing dispute between three major oil companies and the authors of Metro Manila City Ordinance No. 8027 that calls for the reclassification of the Pandacan industrial zones – where the major players are located – into commercial zones.
The long-drawn territorial dispute
Ordinance No. 8027, which was approved in November 28, 2001 by then Mayor Jose “Lito” L. Atienza, Jr. and became effective on December 28 of the same year, gave the owners or business operators a period of six (6) months “to cease and desist from the operation of businesses, which are hereby, in consequence, disallowed” in the “land bounded by the Pasig River in the north, PNR Railroad Track in the east, Beata St. in the south, Palumpong St. in the southwest, Estero de Pandacan in the west, PNR Railroad in the northwest area, Estero de Pandacan in the northeast, Pasig River in the southeast and Dr. M. L. Carreon in the southwest, the area of Punta, Sta. Ana bounded by the Pasig River, Marelino Obrero St, Mayo 28 St., and F. Manalo St.”
Shell Philippines Depot along the Pasig River
Through Ordinance No. 8027, the City of Manila and the Department of Energy (DOE) entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the oil companies on June 26, 2002, and resulted in a “scaling down of the Pandacan Terminals,” which at the time, was deemed as the “most viable and practicable option.”
The commitments from the major oil companies included: the decommissioning or removal of twenty-eight (28) tanks starting with the LPG spheres; the creation of safety buffer and green zones; and the joint operations and management of the oil companies, consistent with international and domestic technical, safety, environmental and economic considerations and standards.
Eventually, these efforts later led to the formation of the Pandacan Depot Services, Inc. (PDSI) in October 15, 2004. The PDSI manages the 24-hour operation of the entire Pandacan terminal including the “receipt, storage, and loading of fuel products, maintenance and engineering of the shared facilities, and the health, safety, security, and environmental concerns.”
The City Council then ratified the MOU in Resolution No. 97 declaring it effective only for a period of six (6) months starting July 25, 2002. During this time, the City of Manila and the DOE worked closely together with the conditions that:
A View of the Depot from the Fence-line Community
In legal terms, “a petition for mandamus may be filed when any tribunal, corporation, board, officer or person unlawfully neglects the performance of an act which the law specifically enjoins as a duty resulting from an office, trust or station … an extraordinary writ that is employed to compel the performance, when refused, of a ministerial duty that is already imposed on the respondent and there is no plain, speedy and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law.”
In March 7, 2007, the SC decision imposed and reinforced the writ of mandamus officially stating that, “the terms of the MOU were inconsistent with Ordinance No. 8027, the resolutions which ratified it and made it binding on the City of Manila expressly gave it full force and effect only until April 30, 2003.”
- Continued on Part 2 -
For my final project, I wrote about the relocation of the controversial Pandacan oil depots; an issue that was resolved early this year by the Supreme Court, ordering the the three major oil companies (Caltex, Petron & Shell) to move out of Metro Manila.
Although I am not as (emotionally) affected by the fuel price hikes, since I sold my car two years ago, I am still concerned with the imminent effects that the relocation of the oil depots will have on the general populace - some of which are discussed below.
I would like to share this paper with you, dear reader, because I believe that everyone has the right to know the arguments involved in this issue. Because the document is lengthy, I broke it down to three parts, which you can also find under Commentary on the right side of the page.
Special thanks go out to the people who gave their precious time for the interviews. This paper would not have been possible without you.
*****
Pacifico Eugenio is the oldest resident of Barangay 834, a fence-line community of Shell Philippines in Pandacan, Manila. Kagawad Pacing, 82, as the 3-term local official is fondly called, lives a few meters beside one of the largest depot facilities in the country, but he insists that these infrastructures pose no eminent danger to his residence or that of his neighbors.
“Alam mo, dito na ako ipinanganak. Yan ang original naming bahay nung araw. Walang nangyari sa aming gulo dito … Yung mga depot na yan nakakatulong pa sa tao yan. Wala silang hangad na pasabugin yan dahil madaming tao dito sa Pandacan ang nakikinabang dyan. (I’ve lived here all my life. That’s my original house. Nothing bad has ever happened to us here … the depot help the people in the community. They have no desire to bomb them because a lot of people in Pandacan benefit from them),” claims Kagawad Pacing.
Kagawad Pacing holding a press release wherehe was recognized as one of the original Pandacan residents
The long-drawn territorial dispute
Ordinance No. 8027, which was approved in November 28, 2001 by then Mayor Jose “Lito” L. Atienza, Jr. and became effective on December 28 of the same year, gave the owners or business operators a period of six (6) months “to cease and desist from the operation of businesses, which are hereby, in consequence, disallowed” in the “land bounded by the Pasig River in the north, PNR Railroad Track in the east, Beata St. in the south, Palumpong St. in the southwest, Estero de Pandacan in the west, PNR Railroad in the northwest area, Estero de Pandacan in the northeast, Pasig River in the southeast and Dr. M. L. Carreon in the southwest, the area of Punta, Sta. Ana bounded by the Pasig River, Marelino Obrero St, Mayo 28 St., and F. Manalo St.”
Shell Philippines Depot along the Pasig RiverThe commitments from the major oil companies included: the decommissioning or removal of twenty-eight (28) tanks starting with the LPG spheres; the creation of safety buffer and green zones; and the joint operations and management of the oil companies, consistent with international and domestic technical, safety, environmental and economic considerations and standards.
Eventually, these efforts later led to the formation of the Pandacan Depot Services, Inc. (PDSI) in October 15, 2004. The PDSI manages the 24-hour operation of the entire Pandacan terminal including the “receipt, storage, and loading of fuel products, maintenance and engineering of the shared facilities, and the health, safety, security, and environmental concerns.”
The City Council then ratified the MOU in Resolution No. 97 declaring it effective only for a period of six (6) months starting July 25, 2002. During this time, the City of Manila and the DOE worked closely together with the conditions that:
- The City Mayor endorses the MOU to the City Council;
- Enable oil companies to continuously operate in compliance with legal requirements;
- Monitor oil companies’ compliance with the MOU provisions; and
- Protect the safety buffer and green zones by preventing the occupation and encroachment into these areas by illegal settlers and other unauthorized parties.
A View of the Depot from the Fence-line CommunityIn March 7, 2007, the SC decision imposed and reinforced the writ of mandamus officially stating that, “the terms of the MOU were inconsistent with Ordinance No. 8027, the resolutions which ratified it and made it binding on the City of Manila expressly gave it full force and effect only until April 30, 2003.”
- Continued on Part 2 -
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1 comment:
I was born in Pandacan, and with the passage of the new ordinance, looks like Pasig River has been given a death sentence. It's sad that for big business, our own elected officials are willing to pollute our city to death. Can I use your depot photo for material we are putting together for IEC?
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