Employees of Petron Corp. on Thursday asked help from the local government of Limay, Bataan to avert the impending economic shutdown of the 60-year-old,180,000-barrel refinery in the town.
Thom de Villa, a shift supervisor at the Petron refinery, led about 50 employees to call on Limay Mayor Nelson David to save the refinery, whose operations were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic because of low oil prices and demand.
“Together, we are asking for help from the local government of Limay to help Petron. We believe the government can do a lot to make sure the refinery will not totally shut down,” Villa said.
“If they—the government and the management of the company—will work together, the refinery can be saved,” he said.
Villa said Bataan residents could bear witness to the huge economic contribution of the refinery to Limay.
“The Petron refinery is part of Bataan,” he said.
The employees also expressed support l to reclassify the refinery as part of the Freeport Area of Bataan.
Villa said Petron was undertaking several initiatives to improve the financial situation of the company but it was no longer enough.
“With the help of the government of Limay, we hope they can bring our sentiments to the attention of the national government,” he said.
“We support the proposal to include the Petron refinery in the freeport zone and we hope the municipality can help us,” Villa said.
The employees believe that the move would help stop the refiner’s financial bleeding, as it would partially address some of the company’s major woes, including uncompetitive playing field in terms of taxes paid.
Villa said the employees and their families would be severely affected by the closure, especially during the pandemic.
Petron’s refinery employs around 1,000 workers and deals with thousands of third-party suppliers.
Petron president Ramon Ang said Monday the company would push through with the shutdown of the Bataan facility by January amid the challenging market environment.