FPIC appeals for cooperation from condo residents

MANILA, Philippines -  The First Philippine Industrial Corp. (FPIC), owner of the leaking oil pipeline that has affected the West Tower condominium in Barangay Bangkal in Makati City, has appealed for cooperation from the condominium residents after one of its contractors was barred from entering the building.

In a statement, FPIC said guards assigned to the West Tower condominium blocked its contractors, Waste Solutions and Management Services, Inc. (Waste Solutions), and Bensan Industries, Inc. (Bensan) from entering the building. FPIC said its contractors were supposed to install equipment at the building’s basement.

“Let’s allow reason and cooperation, and not our emotions, to prevail so that we can conduct a cleanup of Bangkal, including West Tower, without unnecessary delays,” FPIC said in its statement.

FPIC said they are in constant dialogue with the Makati City government.

“We are working non-stop to comply with the rehabilitation/remediation program we submitted to the Makati City government. Rest assured that we are doing our best to rehabilitate and remediate the area with the help of our local and foreign experts,” said FPIC president Anthony Mabasa.

FPIC employees from Waste Solutions earlier complained that they were stopped last Saturday by the condominium’s security personnel from continuing their installation of an air filtration system that would remove the petroleum-like odor coming from the West Tower’s lower basements.

Waste Solutions is the second contractor of FPIC to be barred by West Tower from proceeding with the installation of necessary equipment to clean the building’s basements.

FPIC said Engineer Relly Martinez of Waste Solutions recounted how the condo’s guards verbally told them that they are disallowed to continue installing their equipment and filters at basements three and four of the condo.

“There were no explanations on why we were being stopped. They just barred us from going down the basements. We were dumbfounded,” said Martinez, who is in charge of the technical details of the project.