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SC asked to take judicial notice of Japan quake


An advocacy group seeking the closure of the Pandacan oil depot on Monday asked the Supreme Court to take judicial notice of the burning of an oil refinery in Japan following a magnitude-9 earthquake there last month. In a seven-page motion, the Social Justice Society (SJS) asked the high court to note the admission of the Bureau of Fire Protection that it is not prepared to handle a big fire similar to the one that struck an oil refinery in Ichinara City in Japan's Chiba prefecture. “The admission of the Bureau of Fire Protection in a Senate hearing about its lack of capability to face a catastrophe in the Pandacan oil depot is very alarming for it indeed confirms herein petitioners’ long-time argument that we are not prepared to face a disaster at the Pandacan oil depot," the group said. It also noted the BFP’s admission that it has no high-end equipment like helicopters and chemical fire trucks to use in case of large fires. SJS said that under Rule 129 of the Revised Rules of Court, the high tribunal may take judicial notice of the legislative branch’s official acts. The group added that the SC can recognize that the BFP’s admission was made during the Senate climate change panel’s hearing on disaster preparedness. “The Senate inquiry where the Bureau of Fire Protection had admitted its lack of capability to face the challenge of a flaring oil depot is an official act of the legislative department which this Honorable Court should take judicial notice of," said SJS. Pandacan oil depot case The Pandacan oil depot supplies about half of the country’s total fuel demand and the lubricant requirement of the transport and industrial sectors. It is maintained by the country’s three largest oil companies, Chevron Philippines Inc., Petron Corporation and Pilipinas Shell Corporation. SJS and former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza are challenging before the SC the legality of Ordinance No. 8187, which was issued by incumbent Mayor Alfredo Lim allowing the three oil firms to stay in the depot. In assailing Lim’s ordinance, SJS and Atienza cited potential health and environmental hazards in the continued operation of the oil depot. Ordinance 8187 amended Ordinance 8119, which ordered the gradual phase-out of the oil depot. Stored in the facility are millions of liters of inflammable and volatile substances, including aviation fuel. In May 2009, the high court upheld with finality Ordinance 8119 and ordered the oil depot’s closure. The SC then ordered the Manila government to explain why they allowed the oil depot to stay at the Pandacan district. — KBK, GMA News

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