Authorities: FPIC digging may have affected Magallanes flyover

(Updated 9:30 p.m.) The structural integrity of the Magallanes flyover may have been compromised after digging crews searching for a leak in a pipeline of First Philippine Industrial Corp. (FPIC) reportedly hit a girder or safety grid, according to a GMA News report aired over “24 Oras" on Wednesday. FPIC's digging operations affected a flyover girder, which serves as one of the major supports of the structure, according to the results of an inspection conducted by the Bureau of Fire Protection, Makati Public Safety Department (MPSD), and Philippine National Police (PNP). Radio dzBB meanwhile reported that the Makati City engineer's office and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) rerouted all heavy vehicles away from the Magallanes Interchange. Buses were directed to pass through the skyway, while trucks were rerouted towards Buendia and Roxas boulevard. "Baka bumigay yung approach ng flyover. Tigil muna at pinag-uusapan kung ano talaga dapat. Kailangan siguro ikonsulta muna ito sa mga structural engineer," said Director Hermie San Miguel of the MPSD. (The flyover's approach might collapse. So we've halted for now while we discuss how to deal with it. It seems we need to consult first with structural engineers.) “Masyadong delikado (It's too dangerous)," San Miguel added.
However, FPIC Senior Vice-President Jojo Raule said, "All the activities are performed with safety foremost in mind. Safety of the workers there, safety of the public, the community, and also the motorists." Digging was halted after the Makati engineer’s office received an order from the DPWH to stop the digging operations temporarily, to assess the condition of the Magallanes flyover, QTV Balitanghali reported earlier. Authorities were alarmed when at one point, a heavy trailer truck stalled for around half a minute over a portion of the flyover which may have been weakened. To avoid any accidents, the FPIC set up concrete barriers barring vehicles from passing over the danger zone. The DPWH also plans to add supports to the flyover before allowing the excavation work to resume. By 11 p.m. of Wednesday, all heavy vehicles will be banned from going over the flyover. It was not yet clear when the FPIC could resume the digging operations, or when the flyover would be fully reopened for public use. Locating source of oil leak Teams had been digging along the path of the pipeline in Makati City to locate the source of an oil leak. Earlier on Wednesday, the DPWH assured the public that the foundation of the Magallanes flyover would be kept secure while digging efforts are being undertaken in its vicinity. DPWH Undersecretary Romeo Momo said DPWH personnel are now monitoring the digging and are ready to stop the operation once it gets too close to the foundation of the Magallanes Interchange. The FPIC has two main pipelines transporting petroleum products from oil refineries in Batangas to terminals in Pandacan, Manila. The Lopez-owned FPIC has a 25-year concession to transport crude and refined petroleum products until 2017. The damaged pipeline is FPIC's 117-kilometer “white line" that carries gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and aviation fuel and other refined petroleum products. Its other pipeline, called the “black line," transports heavier petroleum products. Valves of the pipeline were closed while the digging is being carried out. In a “24 Oras" report, the FPIC said the gas leak may have been caused by stress exerted on its pipeline by the Magallanes Interchange. The flyover has a daily heavy volume of vehicles. The structure itself is heavy, the FPIC noted. FPIC workers have thus made a two meter-wide excavation along Osmeña Boulevard, at the foot of the 500-meter Magallanes Interchange. The Magallanes Interchange was built in the 1970s. At that time, the FPIC already expressed apprehensions about the building of such a structure on top of their pipeline. Pipelines shut down The FPIC first shut down the pipeline on July 12 after a gas leak was reported at the West Tower Condominium in Bangkal, Makati, which is near the path of the pipeline. However, the pipeline was reopened on July 15. The FPIC closed the pipeline for the second time on July 21 but opened it again on July 24. On July 29, the Energy Department and the Makati government both cleared the FPIC. The DOE then said FPIC had nothing to do with the gas leak at West Tower. The company shut down the pipeline for the third time on October 28 to determine the source of petroleum leak at the West Tower Condominium along Osmeña Highway, Barangay Bangkal, Makati City. The excavation began only after geologists of the University of the Philippines National Institute of Geological Sciences (UP-NIGS) discovered another oil leak in the area, this time along the south-bound service road of Osmeña Highway in Barangay Bangkal, just a few meters from West Tower. –with Amita Legaspi, Larissa Mae Suarez, VVP/HS/JV, GMANews.TV