‘No turning back’ in West Tower

Reny Castillo sold his home in Ayala Alabang to buy a unit at the West Tower Condominium in Bangkal, Makati so that his daughter, who works in the Central Business District of Makati, would have an easier commute. He and his family moved into their unit in June last year, but by July, he and other residents began to smell the odor of gasoline fumes that would “hitch a ride” in the elevators, permeate the hallways and seep into their units.

When the fumes became so overwhelming, West Tower residents and homeowners in the streets surrounding the building petitioned the local government of Makati to do something about it. Ten days later, after conducting inspections centered on the basement of the building and unable to trace the source of the fuel leak, the city government ordered West Tower residents to evacuate the building.

These days, Castillo spends a significant part of his day visiting West Tower and observing the activities of contractors hired by the First Philippine Industrial Corp. (FPIC), which manages the fuel pipeline from which it was eventually determined the fuel leak emanated, to pump out the fuel from West Tower’s basement and “remediate” or return to original condition, the affected area.

He is often joined by other West Tower residents who have lost their homes and have been forced to rent (an additional expense to some who are still amortizing their West Tower units) other residences, live with friends or relatives, or make other living arrangements. The daughter of Volney and Cris Ricafort, who was staying in their unit, was still breastfeeding her baby when the fuel leak was detected and left the condominium for fear of how the fumes were affecting her baby’s health. Another resident, who was living alone and separately from his estranged family, ended up living in his car for some months, eventually dying from a heart attack.

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“Everyone has different circumstances,” says Cris Ricafort, who is treasurer of the West Tower homeowners association that represents the residents and owners of the 177 units in the 22-floor condominium building. Some 20 unit owners, according to FPIC president and COO Anthony Mabasa, have signed the company’s offer of assistance and amelioration and more important, a “quit claim” to any further demands made on FPIC.

This decision of their fellow homeowners Ricafort and Bob Dimayuga, president of the homeowners association, say they understand. “One of them told me that she had no choice,” recalled Dimayuga, “she had lost her job and it was too much of a burden paying rent and paying for her unit’s amortization.”

“It is not just about the money,” protests Ricafort, who bristles at what she calls attempts of FPIC to portray the West Tower residents as “extortionists.” This is because they filed last April a P2-billion suit at a Makati court. In an earlier interview, Mabasa said he thought the demand, especially the valuation of the property compensation, was “too much,” citing current property valuations of other Makati condominiums. Ricafort, who is in the property business, disputes Mabasa’s claims but also adds that half of the amount is for actual damages while the other half will go to a “medical fund” to cover possible medical expenses in the future of residents that may be caused by the fumes they inhaled.

In addition, the Supreme Court has issued a “Writ of Kalikasan” that has prevented FPIC from opening the pipeline while the court reviews the repairs that FPIC has conducted and assesses the entire line’s integrity. A separate suit against Shell and Chevron in the United States (FPIC’s clients) has also been filed (or will be filed) in behalf of other residents in Bangkal.

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As far as Ricafort and Dimayuga are concerned, there is no coming back to West Tower. “I cannot live in a place where I am continually in fear of contracting sickness,” says Ricafort. Indeed, a visit to West Tower (and to Bangkal) confirms not just traces of gasoline fumes in the air, but also the sight of huge turbines, fans, vats of gasoline and winding pipes (one of which is spewing suspicious liquid into the sewer line) from the West Tower basement to the sidewalk and streets around the building.

I can just imagine, for those who do choose to move back once FPIC says the cleanup has been completed (which the company says it will finish by the end of the year), waking up and looking out of your window and seeing signs of the continuing danger lurking many floors below.

At the moment, FPIC is pumping out the “fuel products” from West Tower’s basement and only when all the water and fuel have been removed can remediation of the soil in the basement and the undersoil around Bangkal begin.

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An environmental consultant helping the West Tower residents, a retired Petron executive by the name of Sonny de Castro, details a complicated process of soil remediation, including excavating the affected soil, treating it, burying it in a protected landfill and covering it with topsoil, and even then many decades will have to pass before any human habitation can be allowed on or near it.

While FPIC estimates that removal of the fuel products and remediation will take from three to five years, the residents’ consultants say it may take a decade or longer.

Meanwhile, a decision on whether the case before the Makati court is simply a civil case or a broader environmental one will be determined by Judge Eugene Paras possibly by next week. If Bangkal and West Tower make a good “case study,” it is also a riveting, fascinating tale involving human beings, corporate environmental and social responsibility, and the mostly missing hand of government.