West Tower suit an ordinary damage claim, judge says

West Tower Condominium. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

A Makati judge has ruled that the P2 billion civil case filed by residents of West Tower Condominium in Barangay Bangkal against the Lopez-owned First Philippine Industrial Corp.  (FPIC) was not environmental in nature but just an “ordinary action for damages.”

“The plaintiffs charged defendants with violation of the Philippine Clean Water Act, Philippine Clean Air Act and the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act.  The complainants did not, however, seek … the enforcement of these laws or their environmental rights pursuant to Section 2 Rule 1 of the Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases but instead prayed for damages,” Judge Eugene Paras said in his August 22 order which was released only Tuesday.

Apart from FPIC, also named defendants in the case were First Gen Corp. and oil giants Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.  and Chevron Philippines Inc.

FPIC is the operator of the pipeline system—earlier found to be the source of the oil that had been leaking into the basement of the condominium—which transports oil products from Batangas province to the Pandacan oil depot in Manila.

The residents, who were forced to move out of the 22-story building due to the oil leak, did not file the requisite filing fees as they stressed, through their lawyer Lorna Kapunan, that their complaint was environmental in nature.

Kapunan said that a case was environmental as long as “pollution” was connected with the damage incurred.

However, the judge agreed with the defendants, saying “it cannot be denied that the purpose of the complaint was to recover damages.”

He said that the case now falls under the Rules of Court as he ordered the residents to pay the appropriate filing fees.

In a statement, FPIC said: “We are happy that the court ruled in our favor. This means we are now guided with proper court proceedings on the case.”

“We, nonetheless, remain open to the possibility of arriving at an amicable settlement with West Tower residents who filed the case. In the meantime, our focus still remains on the remediation of affected areas in Bangkal and the rehabilitation of West Tower,” it added.