Showing posts with label fuel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fuel. Show all posts

PostHeaderIcon Manila oil depot poses risk to Pandacan residents



For a long time the oil depot in Pandacan at the heart of Manila seemed safe. There were no complaints to the presence of the fuel facility right beside congested residential and commercial areas.

“The depot, a 36-hectare cluster of harbor tanks containing 330.5 million liters of gasoline, crude oil and other flammable substances, was built in Pandacan in the 1910s by the “Big 3" oil companies: Chevron (then Caltex), Pilipinas Shell, and Petron Corporation (then Esso). At present, the Pandacan oil depot supplies around 1,800 retail stations in Metro Manila and outlying provinces. The oil depot is also said to supply around half of the country’s total demand for fuel and other petrochemical products.”----GMANews Tv (07/04/09, Calonzo, T.)

Yet, the threats of an environmental accident, natural disaster, earthquake damage, sabotage, and terrorism have grown. It is easy to understand why people started questioning the oil depot's safety. The facility is considered a disaster waiting to happen and concerned citizens, church leaders, and community groups are apprehensive and up against it.

The order of the Supreme Court in 2001 to relocate the fuel site was in recognition of such threats. But through a city ordinance, Mayor Alfredo Lim was able to reverse the decision. Thinking that the oil facility was bringing jobs (10,000 workers) and revenue (P100 million in annual taxes) to the city, the mayor and his supporters, ignoring the danger, believed it was better to keep the depot for the “common good.”

It is hardly for the common good if people's lives are at risk and a fire caused by oil explosion may bring death and destruction to residents who live in the area.

In averting disaster, it is better to err on the side of prudence. As the saying goes, a pound of prevention is better than a ton of cure. (Photo Credit: Etang) =0=

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PostHeaderIcon Transport strike and wounding of transport leader in Albay



The militant group "Pinag-isang Samahan ng mga Drayber at Transport Operator Nationwide" (PISTON) had been fighting the astronomical rise of prices of fuel. In the wake of this, Joel Ascutia, leader of a transport group in Albay, Bicol was seriously wounded by gunshot fired by unknown men last Monday. Nationwide protests were simultaneously held by transport workers and members of various organizations in the country including key locations in MetroManila.

“Supt. Antonio J. Freyra, Daraga police chief, said Joel Ascutia, Bicol regional president of Condor (Concerned Drivers and Operators for Reform), was in a jeepney parked in front of a gasoline station on Rizal Street when the unidentified assailants fired at him. He underwent an operation at a hospital to remove bullets in his abdomen and was declared in stable condition.”---Inquirer (07/14/09, Nasol, RM et al )

Condor-Piston leaders in Bicol held a protest rally on the spot where Ascutia was shot. According to Tessa Lopez of Bayan-Albay, the strike which also dramatized complaints against high penalties for road violations, was successful in most parts of Bicol, temporarily paralyzing traffic and movement of the people. The drivers group based in Naga City, however, did not participate in the mass action. (Photo Credit: Sfynnx) =0=

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