OIL companies which have been displaced from the Pandacan oil
depot are now eyeing a relocation site along the coastal areas of Manila,
Parañaque, Navotas or in the provinces of Bulacan and Cavite.
Chevron, Pilipinas Shell and Petron yesterday submitted their
joint Comprehensive Relocation Plan to the Manila regional trial court branch 39
in compliance with the order of the Supreme Court for them to move out of the
36-hectare Pandacan terminal in Manila.
Coastal depots were one of the options shortlisted by the oil
firms under the Pandacan Comprehensive Relocation Plan because of their
strategic access to and from the sea, making it capable of handling sea vessels
like tankers and barges for its product supply and bunkering requirements.
Actual construction of the new facilities should take three
and a half years, but securing permits, licenses and other clearances might take
longer, they said.
The fuel firms are also considering a combination of inland
ex-refinery depots, but this option requires significant capacity upgrades of
the multiple sites in order to support the volume requirement of the Metro
Manila market.
This option involves the utilization of the refinery depots
and other nearby depots of the oil companies -Petron's terminals in Limay,
Bataan; Shell's in Tabangao, Batangas, and Chevron's in San Pascual, Batangas.
Secondary sites may include Petron's Rosario, Cavite and Navotas depots.
The firms said site selection will be dependent on
discussions with site owners, communities and local governments. Issues
regarding the power of local governments to enact spot-zoning ordinances must be
resolved before a site is acquired.
The firms, bearing in mind Manila City Ordinance 8027 that classified the
Pandacan area as residential, said a presidential executive order must be issued
exempting it from future zoning ordinances, and a legal and regulatory framework
put in place by government to guarantee and protect the new facilities from any
threats of closure or eviction through unwarranted and arbitrary local
government action. - Evangeline C. de Vera
