West Tower vs. FPIC

Alano, Winona
TITLE: West Tower vs. FPIC

G.R. NO. 798 SCRA 292 DATE: 16 June 2015
PONENTE: TOPIC: Section 16
FACTS OF THE CASE:
Respondent FPIC operates two pipelines since 1969 namely, the White Oil Pipeline (WOPL) System which covers a 117-
kilometer stretch from Batangas to the Pandacan Terminal in Manila and transports diesel, gasoline, jet fuel and kerosene;
and the Black Oil Pipeline (BOPL) System which extends 105 kilometers and transports bunker fuel from Batangas to a
depot in Sucat, Parañaque. However, a leakage from one of the pipelines was suspected after the residents of West Tower
Condominium (WestTower) started to smell gas within the condominium.
What started as a two-drum leak at the initial stages became a 15-20 drum a day affair. Eventually, the fumes compelled the
residents of WestTower to abandon their respective units and the condo’s power was shut down. Petitioner FPIC initially
disowned any leak from its oil pipeline and because of this, the residents of WestTower shouldered the expenses of hauling
the waste water from its basement. Thereafter, the University of the Philippines-National Institute of Geological Sciences
(UP-NIGS) found a leak in FPIC’s WOPL about 86 meters from West Tower. FPIC admitted that indeed the source of the fuel
leak is the WOPL but denied liability by placing blame on the construction activities on the roads surrounding West Tower.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY:
Petitioners pray that respondents be prohibited from opening the pipeline and allowing the use thereof until the
same has been thoroughly checked and replaced, and be temporarily restrained from operating the pipeline until
the final resolution of the case. To bolster their petition, petitioners argued that FPIC’s omission or failure to
timely replace its pipelines and to observe extraordinary diligence caused the petroleum spill in the City of
Makati.
The Court issued the Writ of Kalikasan with a Temporary Environmental Protection Order (TEPO) requiring
respondents FPIC, FGC, and the members of their Boards of Directors to file their respective verified returns.
In compliance with the writ, FPIC directors Edgar Chua, Dennis Javier, Dennis Gamab and Willie Sarmiento
submitted a Joint Return praying for the dismissal of the petition and the denial of the privilege of the Writ of
Kalikasan on the ground that petitioners had no legal capacity to institute the petition and there is no allegation
that the environmental damage affected the inhabitants of two (2) or more cities or provinces.
Respondents FPIC and its directors and officers also filed a Verified Return claiming that not all requirements for
the issuance of the Writ of Kalikasan are present and there is no showing that West Tower Corp. was authorized
by all those it claimed to represent.
Since after the Court’s issuance of the Writ of Kalikasan and the TEPO, FPIC has ceased operations on both the
WOPL and the BOPL. However, the Court, answering a query of the DOE, clarified and confirmed that what is
covered by the Writ of Kalikasan and TEPO is only the WOPL System of FPIC. Thus, FPIC can resume operation of
its BOPL System.
STATEMENT OF ISSUE/S:
Whether or not a Permanent Environmental Protection Order should be issued to direct the respondents to
perform or to desist from performing acts in order to protect, preserve, and rehabilitate the affected
environment
HOLDING
No. To recall, petitioners' persistent plea is for the conversion of the November 19, 2010 TEPO into a Permanent
Environmental Protection Order (PEPO) pursuant to Section 3, Rule 5 of the Rules of Procedure for
1
Environmental Cases. For its part, respondent FPIC asserts that regular testing, as well as the measures that are
already in place, will sufficiently address any concern of oil leaks from the WOPL.
Section 1, Rule 20 of the Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases, on the Precautionary Principle, provides
that; when there is lack of full scientific certainty in establishing a causal link between human activity and
environmental effect, the court shall apply the precautionary principle in resolving the case before it.
According to the dissent of Justice Leonen, the directive for the repetition of the tests is based on speculations,
justified by the application of said principle. This, however, is not the case. Nowhere did the court apply the
precautionary principle in deciding the issue on the WOPL's structural integrity.
The precautionary principle only applies when the link between the cause, that is the human activity sought to
be inhibited, and the effect, that is the damage to the environment, cannot be established with full scientific
certainty. Here, however, such absence of a link is not an issue. Detecting the existence of a leak or the presence
of defects in the WOPL, which is the issue in the case at bar, is different from determining whether the spillage of
hazardous materials into the surroundings will cause environmental damage or will harm human health or that
of other organisms. As a matter of fact, the petroleum leak and the harm that it caused to the environment and
to the residents of the affected areas is not even questioned by FPIC.
It must be stressed that what is in issue in the instant petition is the WOPL's compliance with pipeline structure
standards so as to make it fit for its purpose, a question of fact that is to be determined on the basis of the
evidence presented by the parties on the WOPL's actual state. Hence, the Court’s consideration of the numerous
findings and recommendations of the CA, the DOE, and the amici curiae on the WOPL' s present structure, and
not the cited pipeline incidents as the dissent propounds.
notes, if any:
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