Illegal refilling of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) may soon be over following the passage of the LPG Bill at the bicameral level on July 13.
Petron Corp. said since June, more than 10 separate entrapment operations by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detention Group (CIDG) were conducted in Paranaque, Pasig, Makati and Rizal which seized a total of over 300 illegally refilled LPG tanks of the company with an estimated equivalent amount of over P500,000.
Based on the CIDG’s report, the confiscated cylinders came from BM2J Trading, Abner Vidal LPG Store, FLD Marketing, Anick Gas, BBM Gas, Rey Store and LPG Trading and Cuevas Gas Delivery in Makati, Marikina, Quezon City, Manila, and Paranaque. Some of the owners and personnel of the outlets were apprehended and detained.
Under the LPG Bill, tighter sanctions will be imposed on illegal refillers while institutionalizing the cylinder exchange and swapping program.
“We hope these police efforts will send a clear message to owners of non-conforming LPG outlets and other perpetrators of unlawful LPG business practices. There should be no room for these violations and we hope that the LPG Bill, once it becomes a full-fledged law, will completely eradicate these unsafe and substandard cylinders from the market that put the welfare of the consuming public at risk,” Petron said in a statement.
The LPG Bill seeks to penalize violators for illegal refilling, underfilling, hoarding and operating without a valid license with fines ranging from P5,000 to P10 million. It will also cover the entire LPG value chain from bulk suppliers, refillers, brand owners, marketers, dealers and retailers.
At present, the only law that governs the LPG industry is a circular issued by the Department of Energy in 2014. Under the said circular, an administrative fine worth P60,000 can be slapped to violators apart from a fine of P10,000 for every prohibited act or P5,000 per questionable cylinder, whichever is higher.
Petron said cited the importance of buying from legitimate LPG traders and suppliers to assure correct weight as well as tanks’ proper wall thickness, weld integrity and valve fitting to avoid any hazard. – Jed Macapagal
