It’s final: Big 3 out of Pandacan area

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court Thursday denied with finality the second motion for reconsideration filed by the three big oil industry players to move out of the Pandacan oil depot. In a four-page en banc resolution, the SC affirmed its decision ordering the closure of the oil terminals in the Pandacan residential district in Manila, saying these are ominous threat to the safety of nearby residents. The high court noted that the second plea of the oil companies was a “rehash of arguments raised in the first motion for reconsideration." “The basic issues have already been passed upon by the Court in the resolution [on] Feb. 13, 2008," the Court ruled, adding that no further pleading will be entertained by the court on the matter. Last month, the three oil companies have reportedly started looking for alternative locations of their depot, and the high court took note of this. In its 2007 ruling, the SC had ordered the closure of 36-hectare Pandacan depot “to protect the residents of Manila from the catastrophic devastation that will surely occur in case of a terrorist attack on the Pandacan terminal." The SC cited as example of the risk of having the oil depot near a residential district the January 23, 2008 explosion of a defective oil tanker at the foot of Nagtahan flyover in Manila. The incident killed a businessman, seriously injured his wife and severely damaged 10 other vehicles. Manila City Ordinance 8027, issued during the time of then mayor Lito Atienza, called for the clearing of the Pandacan district, classified as a residential area, of the terminals of Chevron, Petron and Shell. - GMANews.TV