Senate set to probe oil pipeline leak

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate is set to investigate the oil pipeline leak at Bangkal, Makati on Monday in order to determine its impact on the environment as well as the liabilities of its owner and operator.

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri filed Senate Resolution 262 Wednesday following reports that the water supply of the communities surrounding the damaged portion of the pipeline has been contaminated.

In a related development, residents affected by the gas leak failed to file yesterday their citizens’ suit against pipeline operator First Philippines Industrial Corp. (FPIC) before the Supreme Court (SC).

Their lawyer, Lorna Kapunan, arrived at the SC at 6 p.m. She blamed heavy traffic for not arriving on time.

The SC’s docket section normally closes at 4:30 p.m. Upon her request, docket officers waited until 5:30 p.m., but Kapunan arrived at around 6 p.m. so her petition was no longer accepted.

She told reporters who waited for hours that she would just go back on Monday to file a Writ of Kalikasan petition against FPIC, owner of the pipeline rented by oil firms, which runs from the Pandacan oil depot all the way to Batangas.

Kapunan said the Writ of Kalikasan is a recent remedy formulated by the High Court to better protect the rights of the citizens to a balanced and healthful ecology enshrined in the Constitution.

She said the writ may be issued within three days from the filing of the petition and may be availed of by any person or entity authorized by the law to prevent and stop any damage to the environment that would prejudice the life, health or property of inhabitants in two or more cities.

Health risks

Zubiri expressed concern that the leak has caused thousands of liters of petroleum products to contaminate the groundwater and flooded the basement of the West Tower condominium, causing “illnesses such as respiratory ailments among the residents.”

He said concerned government agencies such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Energy, and the local government units along the 117-kilometer pipeline from Batangas to Manila, should formulate a comprehensive cleanup, remediation and rehabilitation plan to restore the environmental integrity of the land and water resources to comply with the water quality standards set in the Clean Water Act.

“There is a need to determine the liabilities and responsibilities of the owners and operators of the fuel pipeline under the polluter pays principle and for non-observance of their role in environmental management wherein they shall introduce innovative equipment and processes that reduce if not totally eliminate discharge of water pollutants,” Zubiri said.

He said the pipeline leak has raised the need for all concerned government agencies to exercise strong supervisory and regulatory functions over infrastructure plans and programs of the private sector that will affect the environment and the residents where these are located.

Zubiri said that the inquiry would also try to determine the capability of the various environmental management plans, including the environmental guarantee funds, to respond to fuel spills. – With Edu Punay