Fuel retailers in Pangasinan violating safety standards — DOE

MANILA, Philippines — Several fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) retailers in Pangasinan have been found violating standards in fuel safety, the Department of Energy (DOE) said over the weekend.

The DOE said its Luzon Field Office (LFO) conducted focused inspections (FI) in the province’s municipalities and cities last week.

The FI was part of the agency’s compliance monitoring with the national petroleum standards by gasoline stations and LPG establishments. 

The inspections were conducted in Agno, Aguilar, Alaminos, Anda, Basista, Bayambang, Binmaley, Bolinao, Bugallon, Burgos, Calasiao, Dasol, Infanta, Labrador, Lingayen, Mabini, Malasiqui, Santa Barbara, San Carlos City, Sual and Urbiztondo.

Of the 145 gasoline stations the FI team inspected, 132 were found to have violated the regulations.

Some of the establishments were reportedly found operating without certificate of compliance, appropriate test measure and calibration record. 

The DOE said it gathered 184 gasoline samples and found 86 of them to have failed either the quality or quantity standards. 

All 88 samples of automotive diesel oil were found to be compliant. 

Of the 78 LPG establishments and four LPG refilling plants inspected, 53 were found without standard compliance certificates, and selling LPG cylinders with inappropriate seals and underfilled LPG cylinders. 

All failed samples were brought to the DOE laboratory for confirmation testing.