Diggings into the night

Work has begun on whatever pipeline improvements Shell has in mind on the depot in Pandacan. An announcement posted in the elevator of our condominium building said the schedule for this should have started about a week ago but nothing happened on the supposed start date. All of a sudden, we saw perimeter lines being set up middle of last week and everything else followed. 

I woke up Saturday morning to the incredible noise of the crane and trucks, which continued till the wee hours of Sunday morning. Our living room, which used to be a nice, quiet haven on Sundays without the sound of too many cars and people passing by, has become a sound warzone. The backhoe is now competing with the PS3 game of my son, the giggling of my two girls, the boiling rice in the kitchen beside it and the washing machine in the laundry area. Good thing, our room which faces the opposite side muffles the noise a bit.

Up until last night, workers were still at it, cracking the street and digging deep – so deep, in fact, that we started wondering what they’re up to. Progress was even fast. By now they’d probably be right in front of our East window at home, about hundreds of meters from the starting point, and the rest may have been covered up.

How could progress not be fast with workers toiling on a shift. I thought they’d be resting on a Sunday but, no. They worked on and on, like call center agents. I’d assume they’re being paid double as it’s a regular non-working day. So my question is, what’s the rush? What is this all about? And is Shell giving these workers double pay and overtime fees from the massive amounts they earn from their overpriced gasoline?

The Pandacan depot is close to being removed. Most city councils have already decided on evicting them from the place for safety reasons. I believe Petron has already prepared a location in the North Harbor where they would transfer their Pandacan facilities, and Shell should do the same. But why is Shell still laying out pipes – I assume these are pipes because of the depth of the diggings – if it’s about to leave?

If these are pipes, then I’m more concerned. They are too close to a residential area. The pipelines in Magallanes which leaked and caused the temporary evacuation of some residents in a nearby condo is proof enough that things can go wrong. These pipes will be running under a frequently used street and the vibration of cars and trucks passing here can loosen pipe hinges. I pray to God nothing of that sort will happen.