ILOILO CITY — The Department of Energy (DOE) has welcomed the move of Iloilo City’s Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) to pass an ordinance that would regulate the sale of refilled disposable butane canisters in Iloilo City.
Engineer J. Rey C. Maleza, division chief of the Energy Industry Management Division of DOE Visayas, said in a phone interview Wednesday that they have long been pushing to ban the refilling, marketing, and retailing of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) using butane canisters.
Maleza said pure butane is usually imported from Korea and is being sold only in accredited outlets for about PHP60 per canister.
However, the practice is that after the content is consumed, the canisters are refilled using LPG, each canister of which is sold for PHP20 to PHP25.
It has become a “backyard refilling practice”, he added.
Maleza said they have received reports on the practice in Iloilo and are still at the initial stage of coordinating with the local Philippine National Police (PNP).
He said Central Visayas was “overwhelmed” by the reports on the rampant illegal activity.
Some causes of fire in Cebu, Maleza said, could be traced to the use of refilled disposable butane canisters, which are made of light material and have a smaller bulb compared to LPG tanks, thus they could not handle the pressure of the liquefied petroleum gas.
However, the selling of refilled butane canisters has already been banned in Cebu by virtue of an ordinance.
Maleza said he would coordinate with the office of the proponent, Councilor R. Leone Gerochi, either late March or early April so he could provide inputs on how to strengthen the ordinance.
On Tuesday, Gerochi’s proposed ordinance, “Regulating the Act of Refilling and Selling Refilled Disposable Butane Canisters in the City of Iloilo”, was approved on first reading.
“This ordinance will ensure the safety of our consumers,” he said. ( Perla Lena/PNA)
