Vol. XXII, No. 196 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Friday, May 8, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
BY IRA P. PEDRASA, Reporter
THE SUPREME Court has quashed a last-ditch plea by oil firms to keep their depot in Pandacan.
But a looming ordinance from the local government could still provide relief for Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Chevron Corp. and Petron Corp.
In a four-page resolution dated April 28 but released only yesterday, the high court en banc said "a perusal of the arguments raised by the oil companies in their second motion for reconsideration show that they are a mere rehash of the arguments raised in the first motion for reconsideration..."
The full court, which took over the case upon referral from the first division, noted that second motions for reconsideration are prohibited pleadings. Hence, "no further pleadings shall be entertained in this case. Let an entry judgment be made in due course," the high court said.
The high court did not give a deadline for the enforcement of its ruling.
Supreme Court spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said "their departure will depend on [the relocation plan] and the arrangements they have agreed upon [with the local government]."
The case stems from a 2002 petition filed by the militant group, Social Justice Society (SJS), seeking to direct then Manila Mayor Jose L. Atienza, Jr. to implement City Ordinance No. 8027, a limited rezoning plan that would evict the depot on grounds of safety.
The directive was enacted just two months after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States and had originally given the oil firms six months to cease operations. This period was extended by two succeeding ordinances, which required the companies to merely "scale down" their facilities.
On March 7, 2007, the high court’s first division ordered the city government to enforce the ordinance.
After hearing oil firms’ and the Energy department’s sides in oral arguments, the high court’s first division affirmed of February 13 last year the main decision directing the Pandacan facility’s closure, stressing that public safety is paramount.
It then ordered the oil firms to file with the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 39 a comprehensive plan for their relocation.
The oil firms filed their relocation plan with a caveat that a second motion for reconsideration is pending.
In separate phone interviews, Energy Secretary Angelo T. Reyes and spokesmen of the oil firms said they all have yet to see a copy of the recent resolution before they discuss future plans.
Pilipinas Shell general manager for external affairs Roberto S. Kanapi said "nonetheless, we have complied with the Supreme Court order that we submit a relocation plan. We’ve also submitted an updated one."
Chevron Corp. manager for policy government and public affairs Mark Quebral, on the other hand, noted that "if the decision is final, we will comply with the SC decision... We’ve not stopped with our relocation activities, we’re still on track."
But the Manila city council, through Councilor Arlene W. Koa, is considering a new ordinance, filed last March 5, that would allow the depot to stay.
"That [Supreme Court decision] will not affect the draft Ordinance 7177," Councilor Arlene W. Koa said in an interview yesterday.
"As long as the 20 councilors who voted in favor of the said ordinance on second reading vote for it again on third reading — and I know that they will — all the medium and heavy industries in Manila including the three oil firms occupying the oil depot will be beneficiaries of the said ordinance," Ms. Koa said in an interview yesterday.
Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim, who had vowed to veto the looming ordinance, is abroad and could not be reached for comment.
In a separate interview, Supreme Court spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said "the high court denied with finality only in so far as the allegations in the second motion for reconsideration are concerned... There are already supervening events. But it will really depend on the provisions of [the new] ordinance. The court does not substitute its wisdom for the wisdom of the council in passing Ordinance 8027."
In the meantime, the oil firms are threshing out their relocation plan with the Manila trial court.
In a manifestation, dated last April 15, the firms said they have "undertaken a broad range of activities" for their possible relocation. The firms said they have already constituted their own respective teams to study options for relocation.
"The general areas between the refineries and import terminals of the oil companies in Batangas and Bataan, and the market in Metro Manila, have been identified as possible relocation sites," the document read.
They have estimated it would take five years for them to complete their relocation. — with LDD
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