No LPG shortage: Palace

MALACAÑANG assured yesterday that that there will be no shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for households in the country.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte, in an interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan, made the assurance following the warning of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers Association (LPGMA) on possible shortage of LPG supply due to alleged efforts by some suppliers to hold onto their inventory until there are price adjustments.

“As far as I could remember, the Department of Energy said that they are working not just with the marketers association but with all the other stakeholders involved to ensure that there will be no such situation,” she said.

Also this week, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras made assurances that there is an adequate supply of LPG in the market as he belied the reported shortage made by some market players.

Almendras also mentioned that the perceived shortage was merely due to the “overdrawing” by the small players.

In this connection, the DOE chief said that a team was formed to investigate the matter.

Almendras pointed out that the problem was not the supply but the refilling stations wanting to buy as much as they could because of an announcement about a price increase next month.

While there is a reported delayed shipment of LPG for small players, Almendras noted that the supply from the big players was stable.