Police and firemen on Wednesday cordoned off an area in Evangelista street corner Estrella in Barangay Bangkal in Makati near a gasoline station after residents said they have been smelling gasoline for three weeks.

Residents were told not to smoke or do any hazardous activity that might cause an explosion in a 50-meter radius from the area of the Phoenix Petroleum gasoline station.

Makati firemen opened the affected canals and used a gas detector to check the extent of the contamination.

"They found out that it was diesel fuel. Water was sprayed in the area to flush out the leaking fuel," said a report by the Southern Police District.

"A Phoenix Petroleum tanker arrived to siphon the remaining gasoline products in the storage tank of the said gasoline station at about 5:30pm," the report said.

Police said Evangelista street from Luna street to Macabulos street was also temporarily closed to Traffic.

In a statement, Phoenix Petroleum said the incident is an “isolated case.”

“Please know that the incident at one of our stations in Makati is an isolated case and we have already taken steps to address the matter,” it said.

A report received by the Makati City police from a barangay watchman around 4 pm said residents have been complaining of smelling gasoline for three weeks at the Phoenix Petroleum station located near Estrella St.

The Makati Fire Station said they received a similar complaint Wednesday morning through the Makati Command Control and Communication Center. DMS