LPG-refilling plants illegally operating should pay
CLOSURE NOT ENOUGH
Closing down illegal liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)-refilling plants that are violating safety regulations is not enough.
The Department of Energy (DOE)-Visayas Field Office wants violators to pay for its offenses to stop the operation of businesses involved in the sale of petroleum products not complying with the national standards.
The legal section of DOE-Visayas Field Office recently lodged a criminal complaint against Douglas Labra for allegedly running an illegal LPG refilling plant in Mandaue City, which has been shut down after a raid last Sept. 8.
Operatives confiscated around P2.7 million worth of petroleum products from the plant during a jointinitiated raid of the DOE-Visayas Field Office and the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)-7.
They also seized three bullet tanks; 40 to 50 kilogram cylinders; 1,250-kilogram tank; four canister refilling machines; one sealing machine; 68,000 empty canisters; three air compressors; and a van reportedly being utilized for its operations.
DOE's Russ Mark Gamallo said Labra's LPG refilling plant is one of the “large-scale” operations tagged in the Visayas region, wherein its supply reportedly reaches Bohol.
Labra is facing charges for violating Presidential Decree 1865 for illegal trading of petroleum products. He is out on bail, waiting for the arraignment of his case.
Gamallo said this legal case is the third filed by DOE-Visayas this year, but Labra's plant is the biggest among the three facilities closed down by authorities.
He said their records show that the Mandaue plant has been operating for five years already.
The National Bureau of Investigation has also raided the same establishment in 2014, but it still continued its operations after that.
Gamallo said the confiscated items in the recent raid were transported and placed into a storage facility in Naga City that is owned by the Cebu Provincial Government.
He added that the recent raids are just one of the many initiatives of the DOE to stop those illegallyoperating LPG refilling stations in the market.
The raid came on the heels of the Visayas leg energy investment forum and stakeholders' conference held last September 7 in Cebu that was graced by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi.
Cusi emphasized the agency's commitment to safeguard the protection and safety of consumers through its intensified campaign against illegal peddling of petroleum products, including LPG-filled and refilled canisters.
This drive targets the so-called “bote-bote” or reselling of liquid petroleum products using unauthorized containers.
The DOE Visayas Field Office executives warned earlier that LPG refilling plants are not allowed to refill tin canisters.
They pointed out that a single trip cylinder is a non-refillable or disposable LPG container or canister that are intended for single use only and shall not be refilled after each use, for safety reason.
Experts cautioned that these canisters are not intended or designed for LPG and may pose danger to users or consumers.
There were earlier reports of injuries and fire incidents following the explosion of LPG-refilled canisters.
However, this unsafe practice on the use of butane canisters used as containers for household LPG remains rampant in urban areas, like Cebu and Mandaue.
The DOE regional office is now closely coordinating with the Cebu provincial government to further strengthen the implementation of its ordinance eliminating these illegal activities.