Environmental, religious groups slam Lim's decision to retain oil depots

MANILA, Philippines — Environment and religious groups on Friday slammed Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim’s decision to sign an ordinance allowing the country's largest oil distributors to stay put in the Pandacan oil depot.

In a statement, Kalikasan- People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan-PNE) said Lim’s decision “was an act of selling out the residents of Manila and organizations who lobbied for the relocation of the Pandacan oil depot."

“After all the claims of having sleepless nights and thinking of what's best for the people, Lim still sided with the companies. Now, it's the people who will have to lose sleep over their safety and security," said Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of Kalikasan-PNE.

Lim signed on Thursday Ordinance 7177, an ordinance allowing oil depots to stay in the city’s Pandacan district, despite oppositions from religious and environment groups.

Bautista said the enactment of the ordinance deprives the citizens of their “fundamental human rights such as the right to livelihood, to basic social services and to a safe and healthy environment should not be mutually exclusive."

“The people of Manila, as with any other human being, deserve to receive the full range of their rights. It is a task of the leaders who are elected by the people to uphold these rights and represent the welfare of their constituents no matter how difficult," said Bautista.

Bautista added that by extension, it is not only Mayor Lim who has failed the people but also the other politicians who have the power to influence the decision, but did not.

The national government and its agencies could have been more persistent in asserting the rights of the residents but instead left the decision in Mayor Lim's hands, the group said.


Clean Air Act

Meanwhile, Manila Auxiliary Bishop Bernardino Cortez, one of the signatories of the appeal letter against the staying of the three big oil companies in the Pandacan oil depot, said on Friday the enacted ordinance is illegal as it is contrary to the Clean Air Act.

“Maliwanag sa Clean Air [Act] na ito ay labag sa batas … national ito, kaya dapat ipatupad ito .[It’s very clear in the Clean Air Act that this ordinance is illegal. This Clean Air Act is a national statute and it should be enforced]," Cortez said.

He added they are mobilizing support to counter the moves of the Manila City Council.

Cortrez is part of the Social Justice System (SJS) movement, which has earlier threatened to go to court should Lim sign the ordinance.

Lim, in a speech before his constituents early on Friday, explained that transferring the oil depots elsewhere “would send the wrong signal to investors," besides resulting in 10,000 job losses.

Ordering the relocation might bring the capital’s “economic death," he said.

The SJS earlier contended that the proposed ordinance 7177 is hazardous to residents because of the pollution from the oil depot and also poses danger should any untoward incident occur in the Pandacan terminal.

“The proposed ordinance would admit the presence of highly pollutive and extremely hazardous industries in the City of Manila, under which the oil depot, among others, is classified, endangering the people’s right to a balanced and healthful ecology."

SJS also said the enactment of the ordinance counters Ordinance 8027, which was passed during the time of Mayor Lito Atienza and upheld by the Supreme Court last April.

Ordinance 8027 declared the districts of Pandacan and Sta. Ana in Manila as commercial areas and ordered the relocation of the oil companies’ facilities.

The oil companies — Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell and Chevron Philippines — have been asking for more time to relocate.