Makati court checks rehab work in West Tower condo

MANILA, Philippines - First Philippine Industrial Corp. (FPIC), which owns and operates the pipeline that had leaked petroleum into a portion of Barangay Bangkal in Makati City showed the progress of its rehabilitation work in the affected West Tower condominium during an inspection by Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Eugene Paras on Monday.

“We welcome the opportunity to show the court and other stakeholders what we have done at West Tower, that is, after only two months since being given full access to the building’s common areas,” FPIC president Anthony Mabasa said.

“With two cases filed against us by a group of West Tower residents, we wish to stress that all the efforts we have been doing toward the rehabilitation of the affected areas of the West Tower and the remediation of the surrounding area were FPIC’s own initiative consistent with our earlier commitment to do what is right,” he added.

In a statement, the FPIC said they also conducted a complete dewatering and cleanup of the basement areas while an onsite water treatment facility had removed any trace of hydrocarbon from the water.

FPIC also started the operations of the Vapor Extraction and Filtration System (VEFS), to filter traces of petroleum vapors emanating from the basement. This successfully eliminated the odor that has been a source of discomfort to nearby residents,FPIC said.

“What basically differentiates West Tower from nearby buildings in Bangkal is that it has the lowest basement level through which groundwater in the area passes through. Even without the petroleum leak happening, it will still have water coming in the basement through the building’s back drains,” Mabasa said.

“Such was inherent to the building’s design to prevent hydrostatic pressure from damaging the basement walls. Add to that is the water that seeps through the latent cracks in the wall from the building’s wear and tear,” he said.

He said they are also considering sealing and reinforcing the basement walls of the condominium to further ensure the safety of the residents.

He said electricity and water supply have also been restored and the condominium’s maintenance staff has resumed work.

“We could have done a little bit more if full access to the building had been given to us much earlier. We could have reached our original target to finish the restoration of the building this month,” Mabasa said.

But he said the extraction of the leaked petroleum will take three to five years more to finish.