September 12, 2016
THE Department
of Energy (DOE) has committed to go against illegal liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG) refilling activities, the Independent Philippine
Petroleum Companies Association (Ippca) said on Monday.
The
group added that it found an ally in its fight against illegal LPG refillers
who refill the branded cylinders owned by other companies.
Ippca
said Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi acknowledged the DOE could be
held administratively and criminally liable if it does not protect the interest
of consumers and industry stakeholders.
Ippca
added that Cusi also attributed the proliferation of illegal refillers to the
deregulation of LPG refilling, which allowed anyone to just set up and open
shop anywhere.
Ippca said Cusi also proposed to
revisit existing regulations and work on improving the standards industry
stakeholders should subscribe to, which includes penalizing and preventing
refillers from refilling other companies’ cylinders. Fernando L. Martinez, Ippca
president, said the group has always been willing and committed to helping the
government address the issue.
Industry
players invest heavily in these LPG cylinders, but eventually end up losing
their cylinders to unscrupulous players, who lure consumers with lower-priced
refill packages. However, consumers are usually shortchanged as their cylinders
are either underfilled or replaced with substandard cylinders.
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