FPIC asks MMDA to reopen highway service road

MANILA, Philippines - The First Philippine Industrial Corp. (FPIC), owner of the 117-kilometer oil and petroleum pipeline that runs from Batangas to Manila, is asking the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to reopen the closed portion of the Osmeña Highway service road that was closed because of the repair work done on the leak.

In a statement, the FPIC closed the section of the service road near the West Tower condominium in Barangay Bangkal could now be open to traffic following the successful installation of the multi-phase extraction (MPE) system that will extract the spilt oil and petroleum products that seeped deep underneath the condominium and the rest of Barangay Bangkal.

In its statement, the FPIC said the Department of Energy has already filed a manifestation before the Court of Appeals reiterating that the pipeline is already safe for operations after tests conducted last December indicated no more leaks in the pipeline.