Binay: Firecrackers ban on oil leak-hit villages in Makati stays

MANILA, Philippines - The ban on firecrackers in three barangays of Makati City that have been affected by the leak on the oil pipeline of the First Philippine Industrial Corp. (FPIC) stays, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay said Wednesday.

Binay said the city ordinance banning the use of firecrakers and other explosive materials remain in effect in barangays Bangkal, Pio del Pilar and Magallanes, two years after it was enacted.

Binay encouraged residents to bang pots and pans or blow horns in greeting the New Year instead of exploding fireworks to avoid any untoward incidents.

“Since the problem of the oil leak has not been resolved with finality, the ban on firecrackers, pyrotechnics and similar explosive materials will continue to be strictly implemented in the three affected barangays,” Binay said.

Binay expressed concern that firecrackers may trigger fires in these adjacent barangays that are traversed by the FPIC pipeline.

“I hope the concerned residents will continue to obey the law and observe the ban for the sake of their own families and neighborhood,” Binay said.

The city council passed City Ordinance No. 2010-A-020 in December 2010 banning the use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic materials in the three barangays after soil tests indicated the presence of oil plumes in the soil that was already saturated with petroleum products.

Under the ordinance No. 2010-A-020, violators face a fine of P5,000 or six months imprisonment. If the violation is committed by a business establishment, specifically a corporation or partnership, the president of general manager of any other person acting in behalf of either the president or General Manager shall be held liable. In the case of single proprietorship, the Ordinance holds the owner or proprietor or the person acting in his/her behalf liable.

Among those prohibited by the ordinance are baby rockets, bawang, small triangulo, pulling of strings, paper caps, el Diablo, watusi, Judah’s belt, sky rocket (kwitis), “and other types equivalent to the foregoing in explosive content”; and pyrotechnic devices such as sparklers, luces, fountain, jumbo regular and special, mabuhay, roman candle, trompillo, airwolf, whistle, butterfly, all kinds of pyrotechnic devices (pailaw), “and other types equivalent to the foregoing devices.”

Binay added that a citywide ban on the sale of firecrackers to very young children also remains in effect.

Binay has ordered barangay officials and the Makati Police to strictly implement the 1994 ordinance prohibiting the sale of any kind of firecracker to minors aged 15 and below throughout Makati.

Ordinance No. 1997-290 prohibits storeowners or merchants in Makati from selling any kind of firecracker to minors aged 15 years old and below, and imposes a fine of P1,000 and/or imprisonment for 15 days, or both at the discretion of the Court.

In July 2010, a mixture of oil and water was detected at the basement of West Tower condominium building located along Osmeña Highway, Barangay Bangkal, prompting the city government to order an evacuation and shut down the 22-story building.

The leak was later traced to the nearby pipeline of Lopez-owned FPIC, which transports fuel products from Batangas province to the Pandacan oil depots in Manila.

Based on an order issued by the Supreme Court, FPIC launched a remediation program although the cleaning of the affected areas is expected to take years.