Pasay City Council halts fuel depot construction

The Pasay City Council has ordered the suspension of the construction of the aviation fuel depot belonging to the country’s top three oil companies after the project proponent allegedly failed to submit the requirements for a building permit.

In a joint report, the Committees on Engineering and Public Works and on Patrimony, Land Use, and Zoning stressed the need for "complete engineering plans and specifications as mandated by the National Building Code" for them to evaluate the project’s technical and social impact.

Councilor Marlon Pesebre lamented that even without the permit, the Joint Oil Companies Aviation Storage Plant (JOCASP) has begun clearing the area in preparation for the construction as early as two months ago.

"Obviously, there is a violation here and the Office of the City Engineer could fine them for that," Pesebre said.

The proposed transfer of the JOCASP near the populated Barangay 201 has been met with protests from the residents.

JOCASP is a common facility used by Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., and Caltex Philippines Corp., to provide fuel for airplanes. It is presently located at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 compound.

The facility has to be moved in accordance with the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) master development plan.

However the facility, said to have a total storage capacity of 30 million liters of high octane aviation fuel, will be transferred to the Aviation Support Industrial Area (ASIA) in the NAIA Compound, near Barangay 201.

Community organizations led by one Gabby Villas expressed fears over the proximity of the site to the airport runway which, he said, can be "a cause of great catastrophe in case an airplane overshoots or a pilot making a flight error."

Last March 15, the committees were informed by Pasay City Engineer Edwin Javaluyas and City Planning Coordinator Merlita Lagmay that JOCASP has not yet complied with the basic engineering plans and specifications before their offices can "evaluate and make any position (on) certain inquiries."