FPIC fuel trucks not covered by ban - MMDA

(Updated 5:39 p.m.) Fuel trucks that will deliver petroleum products from Batangas to Metro Manila in light of the shutdown of pipelines due to a gas leak in Makati City will not be covered by the truck ban, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). The pipelines are owned by the First Philippine Industrial Corp. (FPIC), which earlier said that the shutdown would force them to deliver their fuel by land through trucks. MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino said the decision was made to prevent a fuel shortage as predicted by the FPIC. He, however, said the exemption will only take effect once they get an official request from the Department of Energy. With the exemption, motorists can expect between 100 and 500 fuel tanks from FPIC’s refineries in Batangas to ply Metro Manila roads until the pipelines are re-opened, according to Tolentino. Authorities discovered the leak at the basement of West Tower condominium at the corner of South Super Highway and Del Pilar Street last July, but it was only Thursday last week that excavation work started. The FPIC pipelines were temporarily closed down to undergo repair after geologists from the University of the Philippines discovered that they were the source of the gas leak. FPIC president Leonides Garde earlier warned of a fuel shortage if their pipelines are closed down. The Lopez-owned firm supplies 50 to 60 percent of fuel used in Metro Manila with its two pipelines running underground, carrying gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and aviation fuel from Batangas to oil terminals in Pandacan and Parañaque. Oil giants Chevron Philippines Inc. (CPI) and Pilipinas Shell are two of the firms that source the biggest fuel supply from FPIC. Chevron, in a statement issued Tuesday, said it is in the process of identifying longer-term supply arrangements in anticipation of an extended shutdown of the Batangas-Manila fuel pipeline. “We are looking at putting into place longer-term supply arrangements in order to assure Metro Manila of a reliable and safe supply of fuel to cover for the likelihood of an extended shutdown of the Batangas-Manila pipeline," said Mark Quebral, CPI manager for policy, government, and public affairs. He said these arrangements include barging, tank truck bridging, and alternate supply site sourcing. - Mark Dalan Meruenas/KBK, GMANews.TV