Erap orders oil firms to present relocation plan for Pandacan depot

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada on Wednesday ordered oil companies to present to the city government their respective comprehensive plans and schedules for relocating their depots from Pandacan.

“Let this letter serve as your notice that regular monitoring will be conducted by the city government to determine the progress of your activities,” Estrada said in a letter sent to the heads of the oil companies.

The former Philippine president also reminded the oil companies of the deadline for them to complete their relocation.

“Pursuant to Sec 2 of Manila Ordinance No. 8283, you have until January 31, 2016 to relocate the oil storage, petroleum refinery and related facilities which do not comply with the land use classification of the area as a 'High Intensity Commercial/Mixed Use Zone (C3/MXD)',” he said.

The oil depots of Pilipinas Shell, Petron Corp. and Chevron Philippines (formerly Caltex) are located along the Pasig River in Pandacan.

Estrada said the order is in compliance with a Supreme Court ruling favoring the removal of the oil depot in Pandacan.

Estrada said the comprehensive plan and relocation schedule of the oil companies will be evaluated by the city government “to ascertain if your planned activities will ensure that the facilities that adversely affect the environment and pose a danger to the health and lives of Manila's residents, will be removed as soon as possible.”

The Pandacan oil depot supplies roughly 50 percent of the country’s total fuel demand and 100 percent of the transport and industrial sector’s lubricants. More than 1,800 retail stations in Regions 1 to 4 — of which about 500 are in Metro Manila — get their fuel supply from the facility.

The Pandacan depot, which serves 70 percent of the shipping industry’s fuel needs and 75 percent of the region’s aviation fuel requirements, has been an industrial zone for 90 years. However, Ordinances 8027 (2001) and 8119 (2006) rezoned it, designating it for commercial use.

In 2009, Ordinance 8187 reclassified the area as a heavy industrial zone, allowing the oil depot to remain in Manila. But in August 2012, Ordinance 8283 again reclassified the area, this time as a high-intensity commercial zone.  — Amita O. Legaspi/KBK/JL, GMA News