BACOLOD City – The proposed ordinance prohibiting the hazardous practice of refilling butane canisters with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) hurdled first reading in the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP).
The proposed measure also outlaws the sale and distribution of LPG-refilled butane canisters.
Councilor Sonya Verdeflor, proponent, said the Department of Energy (DOE) had been dissuading the public from patronizing LPG-refilled butane canisters because such practice had resulted to many destructive fire incidents in the Visayas and Mindanao.
LPG-refilled butane canisters are cheap, thus these are popular among low-income households.
But Verdeflor said butane canisters were designed to be used just once; once the butane gas is all used up, the canister – which is not designed to withstand the bigger pressure from LPG – must be thrown away.
LPG in the Philippines is a mixture of propane and butane gases. It also has a higher pressure (480-1050 kPa) than pure butane (485 kPa max), Verdeflor explained.
LPG-refilled canisters thus jeopardize public safety, she stressed.
In fact, said Verdeflor, the Bureau of Fire Protection had reported several butane-related incidents of fire since 2010.
An administrative fine of P3,000 will be imposed on violators (haulers) of the proposed ordinance; P5,000 fine for the vehicle used for the commission of the offense; and another P5,000 fine for the owner of the property or outlet dispensing or refilling with LPG butane canisters./PN
