Saturday, June 6, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Environment Secretary Jose L. Atienza, Jr. has asked the Supreme Court to remain true to its role of protecting life, safety and security by annulling a new ordinance allowing big oil firms to continue operating their depot in Manila.
In a 51-page petition that also sought for a temporary restraining order, the former Manila City Mayor said he instituted the case "as the ordinance infringes upon their rights to life, safety, security and a robust and balanced ecology."
Together with four minority councilors, Mr. Atienza filed a petition at the Supreme Court on Friday against Mayor Alfredo S. Lim questioning the legality of the ordinance.
In a telephone interview on Friday, Councilor Ma. Lourdes Isip Garcia, one of the petitioners, said that they are asking the Supreme Court to prohibit Mr. Lim from implementing the new zoning ordinance and compelling him to implement Ordinance 8027 which has been upheld as valid by the high court.
"It is Petitioner’s view that Ordinance 8187 is repugnant and contrary to the Constitution and therefore should be declared void," the petition read.
Ms. Garcia said that they are asking for the nullification of the new zoning ordinance for it violates national laws such as the Clean Air Act and the Toxic and Hazardous Wastes Law.
"The ordinance is illegal for procedures for amendment of the 2006 zoning plan were not followed," she said, noting that amendments made to the zoning plan were not given to the City Planning and Development Office for review and evaluation prior to its submission to the council for approval.
Apart from Mr. Lim, Vice Mayor Francisco Domagoso and the 20 councilors who voted in favor of the new zoning ordinance were also named respondents of the petition.
On May 28, Mr. Lim signed into law Draft Ordinance 7177, now known as Ordinance 8187, which amends Ordinance 8119 passed in 2006, ordering all medium and heavy industries to vacate the city in seven years.
It likewise repealed Ordinance 8027, passed in 2001 in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the US , which reclassified the areas of Pandacan and Sta. Ana from industrial to commercial areas and ordered the three oil firm occupants — Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.,Caltex Philippines (renamed Chevron Philippines, Inc.) and Petron Corp. — to vacate the depot.
"Events of the past have already shown the vulnerability of the oil depot, which is the primary beneficiary of Ordinance 8187," Mr. Atienza said.
"In fact, any oil depot for that matter would be open to assaults, especially in this era where the war on terrorism continues to evolve," he added.
In an interview earlier this week, Mr. Lim said that he was ready to defend his decision of approving the ordinance. He could not be reached for comment on Friday.
— Louella D. Desiderio and Ira P. Pedrasa
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