By Perfecto T. Raymundo
MANILA, June 18 (PNA) — The Supreme Court (SC) has denied the petition of the West Tower Condominium Corporation (West Tower) seeking the opening of a special trust fund by the First Philippine Industrial Corporation (FPIC) and First Gen Corporation (FGC) which will be used in case of a similar oil leak incident that happened in the West Tower Condominium in Barangay Bangkal, Makati City.
In the ruling written by Associate Justice Presbitero J. Velasco, Jr., the SC did not grant the petition of West Tower to hold liable the directors and officials of FPIC and FGC for the damage caused by the oil leak.
The SC affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) which states that the correct way to determine the responsibility of each respondent in the case, if there is any, is to wait for the decision to be handed down on the civil case filed by West Tower against FPIC and FGC.
The oil leak was discovered in July 2010 from the pipeline of the FPIC in the basement 2 of West Tower which prompted the evacuation of the residents of the building.
The FPIC operates the white oil pipeline system (WOPL) which spans 117 kilometers long from Batangas to the Pandacan Oil Terminal in Manila. (PNA)