SOCIAL JUSTICE SOCIETY (SJS) OFFICERS, NAMELY, SAMSON S.
ALCANTARA, and
VLADIMIR ALARIQUE T. CABIGAO, Petitioners,
vs.
ALFREDO S. LIM, in his capacity as mayor of the City of Manila, Respondent.
The Enactment of Ordinance No. 8187
allowing the continued stay of the oil depots
On 14 May 2009, during the incumbency of former Mayor Alfredo S. Lim (Mayor Lim), who
succeeded Mayor Atienza, the Sangguniang Panlungsod enacted Ordinance No. 8187.45
The new Ordinance repealed, amended, rescinded or otherwise modified Ordinance No. 8027,
Section 23 of Ordinance No. 8119, and all other Ordinances or provisions inconsistent
therewith46 thereby allowing, once again, the operation of "Pollutive/Non-Hazardous and
Pollutive/Hazardous manufacturing and processing establishments" and "Highly Pollutive/Non-
Hazardous[,] Pollutive/Hazardous[,] Highly Pollutive/Extremely Hazardous[,] Non-Pollutive/Extremely
Hazardous; and Pollutive/Extremely Hazardous; and Pollutive/Extremely Hazardous manufacturing
and processing establishments" within the newly created Medium Industrial Zone (1-2) and Heavy
Industrial Zone (1-3) in the Pandacan area.
ISSUE:Ordinance No. 8187 is violative of Sections 15 and 16, Article II of the Constitution of the
Philippines on the duty of the State "to protect and promote the right to health of the people"50 and
"protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology.
HELD: We see no reason why Ordinance No. 8187 should not be stricken down insofar as the
presence of the oil depots in Pandacan is concerned.
At the outset, let it be emphasized that the Court, in G.R. No. 156052, has already pronounced that
the matter of whether or not the oil depots should remain in the Pandacan area is of transcendental
importance to the residents of Manila.74
The measures taken by the intervenors to lend support to their position that Manila is now safe
despite the presence of the oil terminals remain ineffective. These have not completely removed the
threat to the lives of the in habitants of Manila.
In G.R. No. 156052, the validity and constitutionality of Ordinance No. 8027 was declared as a
guarantee for the protection of the constitutional right to life of the residents of Manila. There, the
Court said that the enactment of the said ordinance was a valid exercise of police power with the
concurrence of the two requisites:
In the present petitions, the respondents and the oil companies plead that the Pandacan Terminal
has never been one of the targets of terrorist attacks;127 that the petitions were based on unfounded
fears and mere conjectures;128and that the possibility that it would be picked by the terrorists is nil
given the security measures installed thereat.129
Even assuming that the respondents and intervenors were correct, the very nature of the depots
where millions of liters of highly flammable and highly volatile products, regardless of whether ornot
the composition may cause explosions, has no place in a densely populated area. Surely, any
untoward incident in the oil depots, beit related to terrorism of whatever origin or otherwise, would
definitely cause not only destruction to properties within and among the neighboring communities but
certainly mass deaths and injuries.
The steps taken by the oil companies, therefore, remain insufficient to convince the Court that the
dangers posed by the presence of the terminals in a thickly populated area have already been
completely removed.
Both law and jurisprudence support the constitutionality and validity of Ordinance No. 8027. Without
a doubt, there are no impediments to its enforcement and implementation. Any delay is unfair to the
inhabitants of the City of Manila and its leaders who have categorically expressed their desire for the
relocation of the terminals.
The same best interest of the public guides the present decision. In the absence of any convincing
reason to persuade this Court that the life, security and safety of the inhabitants of Manila are no
longer put at risk by the presence of the oil depots, we hold that Ordinance No. 8187 in relation to
the Pandacan Terminals is invalid and unconstitutional.
WHEREFORE, in light of all the foregoing, Ordinance No. 8187 is hereby declared
UNCONSTITUTIONAL and INVALID with respect to the continued stay of the Pandacan Oil
Terminals.
