Oil firms should submit ECC before leaving Pandacan – DENR

MANILA, Philippines - The oil companies in Pandacan ordered by the Supreme Court (SC) to relocate should first seek an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) before they dismantle the oil depot, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said yesterday.

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said that for the oil companies to be granted ECCs, they are required to submit an environmental impact study that would indicate what they intend to do with the area they would leave behind and what measures they would undertake to prevent contamination in the area while relocation is ongoing.

“It is important to conduct assessment to check if there is soil contamination. If the area is to be used for another purpose such as commercial or residential later and it is contaminated, possible remedy could be treating the soil in place or excavating the contaminated portion,” Paje said.

“Developers would have to comply with the standards of clean air, clean water and handling of hazardous wastes,” he added.

The remediation process could take about five years, much longer than the relocation period of six months.

Paje said the DENR would guide the oil companies in the relocation process, including the safeguards to be observed in order to avoid oil spill or contamination of ground water.

The oil companies and concerned offices can be properly guided by Republic Act 6969, or An Act to Control Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes, Providing Penalties for Violations Thereof, and for Other Purposes.

Earlier, the SC ordered the city government of Manila to oversee the relocation of the oil depot in Pandacan within six months.

Chevron Philippines Inc., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and Petron Corp. were ordered by the SC to submit within 45 days a comprehensive relocation plan to the Manila Regional Trial Court -Branch 39.

The SC gave the big three oil companies six months to move out of Pandacan after it ruled as unconstitutional a city ordinance of Manila that reclassified the area as a heavy industrial zone, and invalidated the oil companies’ continued stay in the area.