Manila Mayor's Exec Order Bans Registration of Pollutive Companies

Manila, Philippines -- Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, through an executive order dated June 4, 2009, has prohibitted the registration and renewal of permits of businesses deemed violating environmental laws and ordinances.

“No new business which will pollute the environment, pose danger to lives and properties such as, but not limited to, those classified as extremely pollutive and/or extremely hazardous or pollutive and/or hazardous under Ordinance 8187, shall be registered or allowed to do business in the city,” according to Mayor Lim’s Executive Order 19.

Mayor Lim has previously signed City Ordinance No. 8187, which he approved on May 28, and allowed the continued operation of the depot of three oil companies in the city’s Pandacan district.

The three oil companies that maintain the depot in the Pandacan district are Chevron Philippines, Inc., Petron Corp., and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.

Ordinance 8187 has been opposed by some sectors, including a religious sector led by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, stating that the industries staying in the city pose danger to the lives of the residents and the environment.

The Social Justice Society has also sought to stop Mayor Lim from enforcing Ordinance 8187 contending that the ordinance is illegal since the Revised Manila Charter mandates the city government to pass laws that would promote the general welfare and not to enact measures that “expose inhabitants to serious physical danger.” It also said that the ordinance violated the Constitution and the Local Government Code.