ILOILO City – The Department of Energy warned Western Visayans anew on the proliferation of butane canisters illegally refilled with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
Butane canisters that have been refilled with LPG are prohibited primarily because they are extremely dangerous, according to DOE-Visayas Field Office director Jose Rey Maleza.
These illegal cylinders are fire and explosive hazards, Maleza stressed.
Refillable butane canisters are commonly used in Visayas and Mindanao, particularly by students staying in dormitories and boarding houses, because they are affordable.
These illegal cylinders, according to Maleza, do not comply with standards, unregistered and not endorsed by their office and the Bureau of Philippine Standards.
He appealed to the public not to buy these illegally refilled LPG canisters because using them is highly risky especially in the Visayas where refilling of butane canisters with LPG is rampant.
“Once you have it refilled with LPG, it is not compliant with the standard set for an LPG. LPG has a higher pressure when compared with butane so the tendency is for the canister to leak,” he added.
Maleza said the DOE is closely coordinating with the Philippine National Police in enforcing Batas Pambansa 33 or “An Act Defining and Penalizing Certain Prohibiting Acts Inimical to the Public Interest and National Security Involving Petroleum and/or Petroleum Products, Prescribing Penalties Therefor and for Other Purposes.”
The latest apprehension, he said, was in Guimbal, Iloilo where 1,055 butane canisters suspected to be refilled with were intercepted at a checkpoint by the Guimbal Municipal Police Station and the Bureau of Fire Protection last Nov. 10.
The single-use canisters transported by two persons, apart from being illegally refilled with LPG, also lack a conveyance certificate from the BFP.
“Currently, in Panay island, it’s not
that intensive and rampant when compared with Cebu, Bohol, and Leyte,” he said.
However, it has come to a point where drastic action is needed to pre-empt any
accident, he added.
Maleza said butane canisters should be disposed of and should not be refilled with LPG.
Maleza said the “tin canisters previously filled with butane are for single-use purposes only and are not intended for refilling of the high-pressured LPG.” (With a report from PNA/PN)
