Petron: Relocating Pandacan depot may take 7 yrs

The relocation of Petron Corp.'s oil depot from Pandacan, Manila as ordered by the Supreme Court may take at least seven years and cost P10 billion, an official of the nation's top oil firm said Thursday.

"It will not be easy to move. There are so many considerations. We estimate about seven years will be necessary for preparations, especially if reclamation areas are involved)," Petron spokeswoman Virginia Ruivivar told radio station dzEC.

But Manila mayor Jose Atienza Jr. said the oil firms will not have its deadline extended, saying they already had enough time to prepare.

Atienza, in a separate interview on dzBB radio, said the city government will not contest the Supreme Court order evicting that the giant oil depot out of Manila.

"They've been given enough time. Dapat at this point tanggapin na natin (At this point we should start accepting the high court's ruling)," he said.

He pointed out that it is time for the oil companies to "face the issue" by submitting their relocation plans to his office.

"The law is the law and we must enforce it," he said.

Earlier, radio dzBB reported that Atienza ordered city government legal officer Melchor Monsod to not prepare a motion for reconsideration to the Supreme Court.

It quoted Monsod as saying the city government will accept the decision of the high court, and leave it to the oil firms to dispute the high court's order.

Monsod added that the city council already sought the transfer of the oil depot as early as six months ago because of the danger it posed to residents of Pandacan district.