West Tower warned to drain water from its basement or face closure

MANILA, Philippines – The Makati City government issued yesterday an ultimatum to the management of the West Tower in Barangay Bangkal, Makati to drain the water that has accumulated in its basement until tomorrow or face closure.

City Engineer Nelson Morales said the West Tower management has been negligent and has allowed water to accumulate in its basement which prevent the authorities to fully trace the cause of the gas leak for the past 15 days.

Morales said the gas leak has seriously affected the tenants of the West Tower including the residents surrounding it. “If the management fails to comply, we will revoke the occupancy and building permits of the condominium. We have extended all the needed help to the building management but they have been negligent in fulfilling their obligations,” Morales said.

Morales said so far, tests on the pipelines of the First Philippines Industrial Corp. (FPIC) has been proven negative for leaks.

He said the FPIC has been very cooperative, unlike the management of the West Tower.

“We are ruling out the FPIC pipelines as the source of the gas leak, so that leaves us with the basement of the condominium as the only area that we have not thoroughly investigated,” Morales said.

Morales said traces of oil in nearby areas have prompted the city government to look at motor shops and car repair shops as possible origin of the gas leak.

“These oil traces may have been due to the indiscriminate disposal of motor oil directly onto the drainage system,” Morales said. He said they have asked the city’s health department to look into the need of enacting laws to curb such practices.

He issued the ultimatum to the management of the West Tower following an order from Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay for them to step up their investigation and produce a conclusive report immediately. 

Binay also approved the hiring of the services of a private company to check the presence of petroleum products in the water samples drawn from the pipelines along Capinpin street near the area. “Mayor Binay has ordered soil boring tests to be done on water pipes in the area, in which holes were bored two meters below the pipeline to determine the presence of petroleum products and trace the source of the leak,” Morales said.

The city’s health department has been keeping a close watch on the situation, conducting initial water testing and monitoring signs of illness among residents in the affected area that may arise from their exposure to gas fumes.

City health officer Dr. Ma. Lourdes Salud said that as of Friday, water samples obtained from the area tested negative for any kind of contamination in the city’s own water laboratory.