IN A BID to protect the interests of consumers of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), the Baguio City Council on Monday, July 3, approved on first reading the proposed LPG consumer safety code.
The proposed ordinance also aims to ensure the general welfare of the consumers and establish safety standards in the trade of LPG products as some fly-by-night dealers and retailers were observed to ply their trade in the barangays according to Vice-Mayor Edison Bilog said.
According to the proposed measures, some LPGs may not have undergone stringent processes during refining, storing, refilling, or even distribution or delivery, thus consumers are not ensured as to safety, quality and content of these products.
LPG refillers, distributors, or sales persons dealing with LPG should have a license to operate from the Department of Energy, certificate of accreditation from the Department of Trade and Industry and business permit issued by the local government of Baguio; all to be displayed within the establishment.
Bilog, author of the proposed measure, said penalty awaits the owner of the establishment who fails or refuses to post any or all of the documents, it was known.
In the proposed ordinance, LPG refilling may be done by a person or entity other than the brand owner, but with permission and a written contract; otherwise, the process would be called pirate-filling or cross-filling.
LPG refilling should not be done for defaced, tampered or illegibly marked cylinders, is due for repair, for scrappage, is subject for recall, without using prescribed equipment in a properly designed refilling plant, or directly from LPG tank trucks without approved filling machines, the measure stated.
Filling cylinders with products or with substances other than LPG to achieve correct net weight is also prohibited.
Specifications such as exact contents of the cylinder should be printed in clear readable type on every cylinder, and all LPG dealers should be equipped with weighing devices or test gauges for customers’ verification, the proposal states. Non-compliance would deem any refiner, importer, refiller, dealer or retail outlet a penalty of P2,500 for the first offense and P5,000 with cancellation of business permit; if caught by the task force assigned for the purpose.
Sale and distribution, manufacture of substandard LPG cylinders, or those with wrong or misleading information stamped on the cylinder, or knowingly selling of illegally-filled or refilled LPG cylinders, are also prohibited acts.
A report through the task force’s secretariat will also be submitted at year’s end to the Department of the Interior and Local Government. (PR)