DOJ probes suspected illegal LPG refillers

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is set to investigate the owners and operators of two suspected illegal liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) refilling plants in the wake of the government’s intensified campaign against this trade.

Facing the DOJ probe are the owners and officers of the Malabon-based Republic Gas Corp. (Regasco) and Pasig City-based Omni Gas Corp. for alleged violation of several provisions of Republic Act 8293.

The probe followed a series of lightning raids on these facilities by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). The raids were conducted after a period of surveillance by the NBI in view of numerous complaints by residents of residential communities where the facilities operated, and after the alleged illegal operations by Regasco, Omni and other establishments were exposed in a television report.

The NBI also recently raided suspected illegal refilling facilities in Laoag City and Bicol. Subjects of the raid were the Northland Gas Corp. and Romars International Gases Corporation (Marsflame).

Earlier, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Vincent Perez Jr. vowed that the government would continue to tighten the noose on the operations of suspected illegal LPG refillers.

Perez warned that such operations posed serious risks to the safety of households and commercial establishments since illegally-refilled LPG cylinders do not have the safety features of the standard authorized products. Perez said a Bureau of Fire Protection report disclosed that close to 200 fires have been triggered by the explosion of these cylinders.

Perez also said the campaign aims to protect consumers from buying underfilled LPG cylinders. He said the DOE received reports that the illegally-refilled products tend to be underweight by 10 to 30 percent.

Regasco and Omni join the list of establishments already facing charges in connection with alleged illegal refilling. Earlier the DOE bared the list which include Capitol Allied Trading, Excel Gas Corp., Lukban Gas, Inc., Eslee Trading and J. Gutierrez Gas Center. Most of these facilities have been closed and levied the corresponding fines and penalties, the DOE said.

The NBI also said it is intensifying its nationwide crackdown against this type of business operations. NBI Anti-Organized Crime Task Force chief Ferdinand Lavin had expressed concern that the absence of the legally mandated safety measures and quality standards in the illegal refilling business "significantly raise the possibility of domestic accidents." He noted that the suspected illegal refillers "usually do not repair or rehabilitate cylinders." He also pointed out that the use of branded cylinders by these refillers are not authorized.

Earlier, Judge Alfredo Flores sentenced one Elmer Mosqueda with two penalties of imprisonment of a minimum of two years to a maximum of six years and fines of approximately P300,000. Mosqueda was convicted for selling illegally refilled LPGs and defrauding the public. Davao City Judge Augusto Breva also recently sentenced Marietta Jeanne Fanlo to two years imprisonment and close to P200,000 in fines for similar offenses.