ROXAS CITY, Capiz – More than 21,000 liters of petroleum products were recovered by the Department of Energy from illegal traders in Capiz.
In a raid conducted by the enforcement team of the agency, a total of 16,346 liters of gasoline and 5,644 liters of diesel were confiscated from the six large distributors and retailers of liquid fuels from Roxas City and the towns of Dumarao and Ivisan.
DOE-Visayas legal officer lawyer Russ Mark Gamallo and the Philippine National Police led the operation, according to DOE-Visayas director Rey Maleza.
“The action was done based on complaints received on the rampant proliferation of illegal trading of petroleum products, commonly known as bote-bote,” Maleza said.
He added criminal charges for violation of Batas Pambansa 33 will be filed against nine individuals who were caught selling liquid fuels without the authority of the DOE.
“The enforcement is a continuing activity of the department to promote safety, consumer protection and fair trade practice in the downstream oil industry,” Maleza said.
He added storing large volume of flammable petroleum products in a non-standard facility or inside unprescribed containers endangers lives and properties.
Aside from the “bote-bote,” DOE-Visayas is strengthening its enforcement against illegal refilling of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in non-compliant containers.
Several fires reported within the Visayas were caused by the leaking of LPG canisters.
“These one-time use canisters were previously filled with butane but later refilled with LPG,” Maleza said.
He urged the local government units to enact local ordinances to regulate illegal retailing of petroleum products and to provide investment opportunities for legitimate retailers to come in.
Maleza solicited the support of the local law enforcement agencies to address the illegal activities in the downstream oil industry considering its limited manpower and location of office. (With a report from PIA-Capiz/PN)
