|
By Rommel C. Lontayao, Reporter
A group of Pandacan residents is set to file a
class suit against former officials of the Manila City government
who allowed the prolonged stay of the oil companies at the Pandacan
oil depot.
In a press conference yesterday in Manila,
lawyer Vladimir Cabigao, legal representative of some 15,000
residents living near the oil depot area, said they will file an
administrative case against former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza,
former City Business Permit Director Rino Tolentino and city
councilors who approved the extension of the oil companies’ stay
in Pandacan. Atienza is now Environment Secretary.
“In behalf of Pandacan residents, we are set
to file administrative and criminal cases against the people
responsible for the extension of the operation of the oil depot,”
Cabigao said.
Atienza, in an earlier interview, said he was
also against the continued stay of the oil firms.
However, Cabigao said the former mayor is still
liable for his inability to execute the law, because the city
government under Atienza failed to implement City Ordinance No. 8027
reclassifying Pandacan and Sta. Ana from industrial to commercial
areas.
“City Ordinance 8027 took effect in 2002 but
the oil companies attained an injunction in 2003. So there was a
lapse as far as the implementation of the city ordinance is
concerned,” he noted.
Manila to move for removal of depots
Manila Fifth District Councilor Erick Valbuena
and Sixth District Councilor Ma. Lourdes Isip-Garcia on Thursday
proposed a resolution at the City Council urging the executive
department to immediately implement the latest decision of the
Supreme Court which favored the removal of the oil facilities at
Pandacan.
On Wednesday, the High Court junked the motions
for reconsideration filed by Chevron Philippines Inc., Petron Corp.
Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and the Department of Energy, and
insisted they are firm with their March 7, 2007 decision ordering
the mayor of Manila to enforce Ordinance No. 8027, which directed
the removal of oil depots from Pandacan because of risks from
terrorist attacks.
“Essentially, the oil companies are fighting
for their right to property. They allege that they stand to lose
billions of pesos if forced [to] relocate. However, based on the
hierarchy of constitutionally protected rights, the right to life
enjoys precedence over the right to property. The reason is obvious:
life is irreplaceable, property is not,” the Court’s decision
stated.
Oil companies that will be displaced from
Pandacan because of the Supreme Court’s ruling said they will
continue to fight for their right to operate the facility,
underscoring its importance to the country’s energy security.
Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim said he will enforce
the High Court’s ruling.
|
