Oil depot shut down by July 15

MANILA, Philippines - Oil companies have until July 15 next year to remove their depot in Pandacan and pave the way for its development into an “income-generating site,” Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada announced yesterday.

In a press conference, Estrada said the Supreme Court has ordered the removal of the sprawling depot and the order should be followed to the letter.

The SC, in a ruling on Nov. 25, upheld the Manila City Council’s ordinance providing for the transfer of the Pandacan oil depot by the end of January 2016.

The High Court’s ruling overturned an ordinance signed by former Manila mayor Alfredo Lim allowing the continued operation of the oil depot.

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp, Petron Corp. and Chevron (formerly Caltex) have storage facilities in the 30-hectare depot, which dates back to the early American colonial era.

Pandacan used to be a sparsely populated suburb. The area around the depot is now home to thousands of families.

But it would take more than an ultimatum from Estrada to compel the oil firms to leave before July 15.

SC spokesman Theodore Te said a dispositive portion of the Nov. 25 decision required oil companies to first submit a plan for the transfer within 45 days. Te said that after the submission of the plan, the oil companies would be given six months to implement it. The SC has set no specific date for the transfer.

As early as last April, Estrada had ordered the oil companies to present to the city government their respective comprehensive plans and schedules for the relocation of the depot from Pandacan.

Estrada said that pursuant to Section 2 of Manila Ordinance No. 8283, the oil firms have until Jan. 31, 2016 to relocate their oil storage, petroleum refinery and related facilities not compliant with the land use classification of the area as a high-intensity commercial-mixed use zone.

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 get their fuel supply from the facility.

The Pandacan oil depot, which also 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 the site into one 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.

Estrada said the city government would negotiate with the owner of the land housing the oil depot in Pandacan to make it a commercialized area.

Income, jobs

He said the removal of the oil depot in Pandacan will mean more income for the city government and create jobs. He said investors have expressed interest in the area. – With Edu Punay