Isko dares Atienza: Withdraw ECCs of 'Big 3' oil firms

MANILA, Philippines - Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno yesterday dared Environment Secretary Lito Atienza to “put his money where his mouth is” by withdrawing the environmental compliance certificates (ECCs) he has issued, which allow the country’s three biggest oil firms to operate the Pandacan oil depot.

Moreno took exception to Atienza’s statements that Mayor Alfredo Lim is behind the city council’s passage of a proposed ordinance amending a 2001 rezoning measure, which ordered oil firms Caltex Philippines Inc. (now Chevron Philippines), Petron Corp. and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. to vacate the Pandacan oil depot within six months.

The proposed ordinance, authored by Tondo Councilor Arlene Koa, seeks to amend the zoning laid out in Ordinance 8027, which reclassified parts of Pandacan and Sta. Ana into commercial from industrial.

Koa’s measure seeks to revert Pandacan into a zone for medium and heavy industries – and allow the depot to continue to operate, according to critics of the proposal.

Atienza to blame

Moreno, who heads the city council, said that contrary to Atienza’s claim, the city’s legislative body is not Lim’s “rubber stamp.”

Moreno said Atienza could have refused to issue the ECCs necessary for the oil depots to continue operating in Pandacan, “if he truly wanted the oil companies out of the city as he claims.”

“He has been environment secretary for two years. Upon assuming the post, he should have acted on the matter if his concern for the residents of Pandacan is sincere,” he said in a statement.

Moreno said during Atienza’s term as Manila mayor, “he ruled the city council. That’s why I bolted from the majority bloc.” He said Lim, on the other hand, “respects the independence of the city council and simply attends to executive functions.”

Moreno said the depot would have been gone a long time ago had Atienza not paved the way for its continued operation.

He said that though the city council passed Ordinance 8027 in 2001, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by Atienza and the Department of Energy in June 2002 allowed the oil firms to stay at the depot for another six months.

Moreno said the council passed a new measure in January 2003 that led to the granting of special business permits to the three oil companies.

The civil society group Social Justice Society (SJS) then filed an action before the Supreme Court seeking to compel Atienza to enforce Ordinance 8027. However, Atienza maintained that the MOU superseded the ordinance.

The Supreme Court upheld the legality of Ordinance 8027 in 2007 and ruled that Atienza enforce the ordinance.

SJS to sue 20 Manila dads

SJS lawyer Vladimir Cabigao said they plan to charge 20 Manila councilors who signed Koa’s proposal with grave abuse of authority before the Office of the Ombudsman.

“Under our Civil Code, Supreme Court decisions form part of the law of the land,” he said.

Last March 19, Koa expressed optimism that the Supreme Court ruling upholding Ordinance 8027 would be nullified once a new ordinance is passed and validated by the city council.

Cabigao said Koa’s proposal “was done in bad faith,” noting that the measure violates a clause in the Local Government Code that states that laws passed by city councils should promote the health and safety of their constituents.

Koa’s proposal “would destroy the environment, would put at risk the health and safety of the people,” he said.

Pandacan Councilor Ma. Lourdes Isip-Garcia, who is trying to block Koa’s proposed measure, said it did not follow the procedures prescribed by Ordinance 8119, which also ordered the removal of the oil depot.

“There is a procedure before (Ordinance 8027) could be amended. First, the city planning and development office study must be used. There was a study already made, saying they are not endorsing (Koa’s) proposal… which would legitimize the stay of the oil depot,” she said.