Erap: ‘Big 3’ oil firms may be out of Pandacan depot by January

The “big three” oil companies could be completely out of Pandacan, Manila, on January 2016.

Mayor Joseph Estrada has announced that the oil companies occupying the Pandacan oil depot—Petron Corp., Chevron Philippines Inc. and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.—have started to demolish their structures at the facility after agreeing to comply with orders issued by the courts and city government.

“We are pleased to receive the report of [Manila] Regional Trial Court Branch 38 presided by the Honorable Judge Noli Diaz that the three oil companies have submitted their removal and relocation plans in compliance with the Supreme Court order,” Estrada said in a dialogue with parties concerned.

He was referring to a decision promulgated by the high tribunal in March which upheld city ordinances that ordered the removal of the oil depot as well as the conversion of the lot it was standing on into a commercial and residential zone.

Estrada said that the high court’s order paved the way for the transfer of the oil depot and the demolition of its structures which should start in the coming weeks. In the meantime, he established a technical compliance and monitoring group to review the plans submitted by the oil companies and ensure that these would be executed properly.

“We have established this monitoring group so that we can assure you that everything is safe, that no fires or explosions will happen once they demolish their tanks,” he added.

“We expect that by January 2016, the structures in the depot [would] have already been demolished,” he said. “We will then ensure that the land left behind will not contain any toxic by-products before we can build on the site.”

In the meantime, Estrada said the city government would meet with owners of the land on which the oil depot is built. Portions of the 19-hectare property are owned by the University of the Philippines, the Philippine National Oil Corp. and the city government, among others.

“We hope to meet them so we can consolidate our plans for the land. We hope to develop this place into something like the Rockwell district in Makati—a high-class commercial and residential district,” he added.

“This will hopefully generate more jobs for the residents nearby, while also giving more revenues to the city in the long term,” Estrada said.

According to him, all the tanks of the three oil companies have already been emptied and readied for dismantling. He noted that only Shell so far has applied for demolition permits but must secure a notice to proceed before continuing.