FPIC welcomes task force's help in oil leak cleanup

MANILA, Philippines - The First Philippine Industrial Corp. (FPIC), owner of the pipeline that had leaked oil and petroleum in Makati City’s Barangay Bangkal, welcomed yesterday the involvement of a government task force in the ongoing cleanup and restoration.

The Inter-Agency Committee on Environmental Health (IACEH), headed by Health Secretary Enrique Ona, formed a technical working group in February to help address the oil leak.

“We are glad to have the IACEH Task Force and we are confident they will continue to recognize and approve of our restoration activities. We are doing our very best to tap both local and international experts to achieve our goal of complete restoration of Barangay Bangkal,” FPIC president Tony Mabasa said in a statement.

The restoration activities are focused on rehabilitating the West Tower Condominium and the retrieval of the remaining petroleum that has settled mostly underground in the area of the Osmeña Highway and the adjacent service road near the Magallanes flyover.

“FPIC to date has made significant efforts to ensure that the requirements for restoration set forth by the government are complied with and that they meet international standards,” Mabasa said.

The FPIC had also installed 10 more submersible pumps at the affected barangay to speed up the recovery of millions of liters of fuel that leaked from its pipeline. ­– Mike Frialde, Jose Rodel Clapano