At the heart of Manila, spanning 33 hectares, lies a ticking time bomb, the Pandacan oil depot, owned and operated by Chevron, Petron, and Shell, containing 313 million liters of gasoline, diesel, bunker fuel, jet fuel and other highly volatile chemical substances. The giant facility lies amidst and close to thickly populated areas of Pandacan, Paco, Sta. Mesa, Sta. Ana and the Pasig River system.

Various accidents have occurred over the years within and outside the Pandacan oil depot involving explosions and leaks (e.g., in the West Tower Condo basement and vicinity of Makati ) along its pipeline from Batangas, leaks in its storage tanks, its exploding tankers on the road and on the water (i.e., off-shore of Cavite and Bataan in recent months). These accidents have claimed some lives, injured many and destroyed substantial property but they are as yet simply lucky close calls to a disaster. In much smaller facilities in US, UK, Canada, Puerto Rico, India and elsewhere, where technical failures and human error triggered massive explosions which spread out as far as two to three kilometers away – one cannot begin to imagine if the same thing happens to Pandacan. The very recent British Petroleum oil spill in Mexico is a fearful event that happened despite advanced technology employed by said firm. Add to this the ongoing and very real threat of terrorist attacks. The Pandacan oil depot certainly remains a disaster waiting to happen!

Moreover, the University of the Philippines College of Medicine conducted a study and found out that the number of cases of neurophysical disorders in Pandacan have been progressively increasing. Another health survey proved that the air in and surrounding the oil depot contains high levels of Benzene - a highly volatile compound known to increase the risk of cancer and wreaks havoc on the nervous, respiratory and immune systems.

Furthermore, certain predictions of experts that disasters may come now and within 50 years, such as magnitude 7.2 earthquake, will put lives and properties of Manileños in grave danger if the oil depot remains within the city limits.

The continued stay of the oil depot in Pandacan poses a clear and present danger to health, lives, and properties of Manileños.

Meanwhile, the City Council of Manila has passed Ordinance 8283 in 2012 that reclassified the 33-hectare land occupied by the oil depot in Pandacan from an industrial zone to a high intensity commercial / mixed use zone. As a result of this, the depots of the three (3) oil companies, namely Shell, Chevron-Caltex, and Petron, are ordered to dismantle and relocate their depots and operations outside of Manila by January 2016. Though the new city administration has repeatedly and openly declared that the oil depot in Pandacan has to be relocated outside of Manila, a RELOCATION PLAN WITH DISMANTLING SCHEDULE has to be drawn and strictly observed to meet the deadline set by the City Ordinance on January 2016.

The Pandacan oil depot has to be dismantled and relocated immediately outside of Manila in accordance with the provisions of City Ordinance 8283, as popularly supported by residents of Manila and nearby, and as recommended by experts in concerned agencies / offices, both private and government.

We call on the City Government of Manila to put primacy on life over profit and to design a rehabilitation plan that will prioritize the welfare and interest of Manileños.

We call on the Office of the President of the Philippines to uphold and protect people's lives, health and environment from profit-hungry companies and individuals and take a decisive action for the immediate implementation of the City Ordinance 8283.

We further call on other government instrumentalities and private entities opposed to this move to set aside any anti-people agenda and help promote instead a genuine development that is democratic, pro-Filipino and not subservient to foreign interest and dictates.