Philippine Supreme Court Decision May Force Shell and Chevron to Close Troubled Oil Depot

On March 7, 2007, the Philippine Supreme Court ordered the enforcement of Manila City Ordinance 8027, which forces the relocation of an oil depot located in Metro Manila, for the “protection of the residents of Manila from catastrophic devastation”.  The Court upheld the validity of Ordinance 8027, which passed in 2001 and re-classified the land on which the depot sits from industrial to commercial which then forbids its current use.  However, instead of outright removal, Manila City Government and the Department of Energy entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the oil companies agreeing to a “scaling down of operations”.  Located in the Pandacan section of Manila, surrounded by over 84,000 residents, the oil depot is owned by a consortium of oil companies that includes the San Ramon-based Chevron Corporation.

The Filipino/American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity (FACES) joins in celebrating this victory for the people of Pandacan and Manila.  FACES, working closely with community organizations based in Pandacan, has urged Chevron to relocate the depot and implement corporate social responsibility and environmental standards because of the constant threat of calamity from accidental fires and explosions due to oil depot operations in the midst of a highly populated area. In December 2005, an explosion at Buncefield oil depot in London, United Kingdom, resulted in 43 people injured, 80 businesses destroyed, and the evacuation of over 2,000 people who lived within 7 miles of the vicinity. In Pandacan, a similar blast would be catastrophic.

“Closure of the oil depot is critical to halt the ongoing negative assault on the public health of Pandacan residents from chronic exposures to toxic pollutants from oil depot operations,” states Gala King, FACES co-chair and a public health specialist.  In 2002, research conducted by San Francisco-based Global Community  Monitoring, found high levels of benzene, which is a known carcinogen and component of gasoline, in the air around Pandacan.

As an organization that includes environmental scientists and engineers, as well as community activists, FACES urges that the closure of the oil depot involves proper environmental remediation, ensuring that all toxic contamination of soil, surface water and ground water, coastal areas, and permanent structures are cleaned up to standards appropriate for its reclassification to commercial use.

“On our part, we will continue to urge Mr. Samuel Armacost, the Chair of the Board of Directors of Chevron, to visit Pandacan, listen to the concerns of the community, and announce specific plans for environmental clean-up and closure of its operations,” states FACES co-chair Christine Cordero. Last December, Cordero and other FACES members joined with environmental groups and fenceline communities surrounding the Chevron oil depot and refinery in Richmond, California, to draw attention to the adverse health effects of oil depots on fenceline communities around the world.
 

FILIPINO/AMERICAN COALITION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SOLIDARITY (FACES)
www.facessolidarity.org
1808 Fifth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
(510) 549-1808

   
PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2007

Press Contacts:    Gala King, Board Co-Chair         Aileen Suzara, Media and Communications
510-759-4196                808-896-7299