THE LOPEZ-owned First Philippine Industrial Corp., together with its clients Shell and Chevron, on Friday questioned the jurisdiction of the court handling the P2 billion civil case which residents of West Tower condominium had filed against them.
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 in Barangay Bangkal, Makati City—that transports Chevron and Shell products from Batangas province to Pandacan.
The respondents and West Tower residents showed up at Makati City’s Regional Trial Court Branch 58 yesterday for the hearing of the respondents’ joint motion for preliminary hearing to urge the court to determine whether the case was environmental in nature or not.
The respondents claimed the case is no longer environmental in nature since the complainants are simply asking for compensation and not the enforcement of environmental laws.
But lawyer Lorna Kapunan, counsel for the building’s residents, said the respondents were merely employing delaying tactics.
She hit the respondents’ firms for allegedly insinuating that the P2 billion in total compensation the residents were seeking was unreasonable and bordering on extortion.
“It is appalling how FPIC and the rest of the defendants are now calling the residents of West Tower ‘extortionists’ and ‘opportunists’ in an attempt to weasel their way out of their own mistake,” Kapunan said.
“This is not an extortion case. Tell that to the ones who have lost their homes,” she added.
Asked to comment about the “extortion” issue, lawyer Jaime Hofilena who represents FPIC, said: “We deny that. This matter should now be addressed by the court.”
Hofilena also reiterated that the case filed by the complainants do not have the elements of being an environmental case under the rules of law. “It’s essentially a case for damages.”
The residents claimed they have yet to receive compensation, including expenses they incurred from their own cleanup, relocation and medical bills.
Robert Dimayuga, president of the West Tower Homeowners Association said the P2-billion damage suit included the cost of replacing the residents’ condominium units and other charges.