SC allows FPIC to resume bunker pipeline operations

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) has allowed First Philippine Industrial Corp. (FPIC) to resume operating its pipeline earlier ordered temporarily closed due to a fuel leak affecting residents of West Tower Condominium in Makati City.

In a resolution released yesterday, the High Tribunal said the Lopez-owned firm may operate its black oil pipeline (BOPL) system, which covers a 105-kilometer stretch from Batangas to Sucat in Parañaque City and transports bunker fuel.

The SC explained that the writ of kalikasan and temporary environmental protection order (TEPO) it issued last year only covered the white oil pipeline (WOPL) system that extends to 117 kilometers from Batangas to Pandacan terminal in Manila and transports diesel, gasoline, jet fuel and kerosene.

“Wherefore, the court hereby clarifies and confirms that what is covered by the Nov. 29, 2010 writ of kalikasan and TEPO is only the WOPL system of respondent FPIC. Consequently, the FPIC can resume operation of its BOPL system,” the ruling said.

The resolution was handed down in response to a question from the Department of Energy seeking clarification of the writ and TEPO since FPIC ceased operations on both WOPL and BOPL systems of its pipeline.

The court explained that the “what the petitioners sought to stop operating is the WOPL, where the leak was found, affecting the vicinity of West Tower condominium.”

The SC inspected the pipeline last April. Independent experts from the University of the Philippines (UP) National Institute of Geological Sciences (NIGS) and Institute of Civil Engineering found no other leaks and recommended that FPIC’s bid for a 24-hour test of the 117-kilometer pipeline be allowed.

After conducting segment tests, UP-NIGS director Carlos Arcilla and Energy Undersecretary Jose Layug said they saw no danger in allowing FPIC’s proposal for a 24-hour test run to see whether the entire pipeline, which is the main means of transportation from the Batangas to Manila, can resume operations.

In the proposed scraper or “intelligent pig test,” a machine – shaped like the body of a pig – would run through the whole stretch of the pipeline from Batangas to Manila to determine if there are other leaks.

In the writ it issued in November last year, the SC ordered FPIC to check the structural integrity of the entire length of its pipeline and submit a report to the court within 60 days. The High Court took into consideration the “danger the pipeline poses” in issuing the order.

In their petition, the residents affected by the leak invoked their constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology in seeking the building of a new pipeline.

They said FPIC should be held liable for the leak, which has caused respiratory problems and groundwater contamination in the area, due to its failure to maintain and secure the structural integrity of the 43-year-old pipeline .

FPIC president Tony Mabasa said their company had already worked to clean up the basement of West Tower Condominium in Bangkal, Makati and haul the water contaminated by the leak from the company’s pipeline every day.