On the first anniversary of what they dubbed “the worst environmental disaster,” residents of West Tower Condominium in Barangay (village) Bangkal, Makati City, attended a Mass as they remembered the oil spill and its effects on the environment and judged the entries in an art contest titled “The Effect of the Oil Spillage in Bangkal.”
Residents of the barangay were also present at the event along with condo unit owners. The former wore white and green T-shirts while the latter were dressed in black.
A white coffin bearing the message, “May you rest in peace in fuel of First Philippine Industrial Corp., Shell and Caltex,” was laid down near the condominium to symbolize the building’s death, Bob Dimayuga, West Tower Homeowners Association president, told the Inquirer in an interview.
Dimayuga said that these companies should not evade their responsibility to residents as he also called on the government to take action, referring in particular, to the Department of Health, Department of Energy and Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Lorna Kapunan, the lawyer of the homeowners, told the Inquirer that the case was not just a civil case as she raised the issue of the oil leak’s effects on the environment.
In November last year, the Supreme Court granted a petition filed by West Tower residents for the issuance of a writ of kalikasan.
This was after an oil leak was found in the basement of the building in July. The source of the oil was later traced to a portion of the 117-kilometer pipeline owned and operated by FPIC.
The pipeline stretches from Batangas to the Pandacan oil depots in Manila and carries refined products, gasoline, diesel, aviation gas and kerosene.
It was shut down in October last year.
But one year later, condo officials said that nothing has changed.
“The problem with FPIC is they are still in denial,” Kapunan told the Inquirer in an interview. “This is not just a civil case.”
“They have to clean up the air, soil and water,” Kapunan added, saying that the problem does not only affect residents but also the environment.
Kapunan also said that it would seem that FPIC was forgetting the order issued by the high court. “They have to define the integrity of the pipeline,” she said.
“We cannot go back to our units due to the presence of gas fumes that are dangerous to our health. There is also a possibility of an explosion that could do severe damage, not only to the condominium, but to the entire barangay,” Dimayuga said.
Thursday’s event was also attended by Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr.