Dalaguete town wants gas station ordinance repealed

CEBU, Philippines - The municipal government of Dalaguete, through its town administrator, is calling for the repeal of a provincial ordinance that regulates the distance of gas stations from one another.

This after the town received a complaint filed by a private entrepreneur at the office of the Department of Energy for allegedly denying new business investments from entering the town.

Rydel Cisneros, municipal administrator and designated public information officer of Dalaguete, explained to The FREEMAN that they have yet to answer the complaint but stressed that it is not true that they are not allowing new businesses, especially those that are to be set up by non-residents or those not “close to the municipal government.”

“Dili gyud tawn na tinuod,” said Cisneros, as he pointed out that the reason they cannot allow new gas stations to be constructed is due to Provincial Ordinance 2011-07 which indicates that gasoline stations should be one kilometer from each other.

Cisneros added that the ordinance also indicates that gasoline stations should not be within 30 meters from schools and hospitals.

According to Cisneros, an amendment was made in the ordinance where it added an exception clause, allowing municipal or city councils to pass a resolution allowing the construction of gas stations even within one kilometer from each other.

However, Cisneros said that this still has a disadvantage since they can still be tagged as “favoring” approval to those close to the government.

Cisneros clarified that they are not stating that the implementation of the ordinance was wrong. In fact, he said he understands that there are advantages to the ordinance especially for the protection of the safety of the public.

However, Cisneros explained that the municipal and city governments in provinces are mostly affected, primarily because they have big areas but can only put a number of gas stations, consequently disadvantageous to their constituents and the riding public.

Also, Cisneros said additional investments through new businesses for the town support the growth of their economy.

However, he added that they wish to do this without being blamed on playing “political favorites.”

Further, he cited DOE’s oil deregulation law which sustains the transparency of the prices of oil for the benefit of the consumers.

If there are more gas stations in their area, Cisneros said it would encourage gasoline stations to offer competent prices.

Cisneros said they have initially explained the concern on the ordinance to the DOE who indicated that they are not aware of the provincial ordinance and that they will look into it.

He added that they will be answering the complaint and will include the ordinance in their reply, but all in all, they hope to have the provincial ordinance repealed.  (FREEMAN)