MANILA – In a surprising turnaround, the Manila city council passed on third and final reading an ordinance that would allow the country’s three major oil companies to retain their controversial depots in a crowded district in the city.
But its approval was marred by a walkout by the 14 councilors who vehemently opposed the ordinance, warning that this would endanger the lives of the millions of residents of the district of Pandacan where the oil depots are located along the banks of the historic Pasig River.
The depots are also less than a kilometer away from the Malacanang Palace, the official residence of the country’s presidents.
During a stormy and tumultuous session on Thursday, 20 councilors voted for the ordinance, with 14 against, which created zones for medium and heavy industries in Manila, particularly in Pandacan and the neighboring district of Santa Ana.
In effect, the proponents said the ordinance allowed the country’s “Big 3,” composed of Petron, Chevron (formerly Caltex) and Pilipinas Shell, to continue operating their oil depots in Pandacan.
The ordinance amends an earlier measure also approved by the council, which reclassified the districts of Pandacan and Santa Ana from an industrial to a commercial-residential zone.
The ordinance now goes to the office of Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim who earlier said he would veto the measure.
But knowledgeable sources, who requested anonymity, said it is possible that Lim could have had a change of heart since the ordinance was passed by his supporters in the council, led by Vice Mayor Isko Moreno, the presiding officer.
In affirming its legality, the High Court stressed that “the right to life enjoys precedence over the right to property.”
However, woman Councilor Arlene Koa, the principal author, pointed out that although the High Court already ruled on its legality, it also acknowledged a new ordinance could make the necessary amendments and supersede the first measure that mandated the closure of the oil depots.
Koa insisted her measure was for the betterment and welfare of Manila, saying it was wrong timing for City Hall to order industries like the three oil firms to leave.
According to Koa, thousands of employees would be displaced and taxes would be lost if the Pandacan oil depots and other heavy industries located in Manila would be forced to leave.
Company officials said that the oil depots supplies about half of the country’s total demand for gasoline and diesel as well as 100 percent of its lubricant needs.
However, Pandacan woman Councilor Maria Lourdes Isip-Garcia, who led the minority in the walkout, warned her colleagues that the approval of the ordinance would literally “kill” the city of Manila.
Garcia also claimed the ordinance was allegedly railroaded through the council for “millions of reasons,” which she, however, refused to elaborate.
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[...] ordinance passed by the Manila city council which would enable the country’s three major oil companies to retain their depots in crowded district in the [...]