LIQUID FUEL INSPECTION: Members of the Focused Inspection Team evaluates a gasoline station in San Juan, Siquijor.

The Department of Energy (DOE) recently concluded another round of compliance monitoring inspections for establishments involved in the distribution and sale of petroleum products in the provinces of Negros Oriental and Siquijor on 13-17 August 2018.

The “Focused Inspection (FI) on the Downstream Oil Industry” was conducted in partnership with concerned Local Government Units (LGUs), the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Science and Technology, the Philippine Information Agency, the Bureau of Fire Protection, and the Philippine National Police.

Spearheaded by the Energy Industry Management Division of the DOE-Visayas Field Office (VFO), the FI seeks to ensure that all petroleum products being sold in the market adhere to national quality and quantity standards that protect the consumers.

A total of 162 liquid fuel retail outlets and 115 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) establishments were inspected. It was revealed that 84 percent of liquid fuel retail outlets operate without the Certificate of Compliance required by the DOE.

For the distributors of LPG, about 98 percent of the LPG establishments are without Standards Compliance Certificates in violation of the Amended Retail Rules and LPG Industry Rules. Furthermore, 11 percent of the total liquid fuel retail outlets inspected was found to have under-delivering dispensers. These were immediately referred to the LGUs for immediate corrective measures, without prejudice to the appropriate cases that may be filed later.

The DOE-VFO regularly conducts compliance monitoring activities throughout the Visayas to uphold the welfare of consumers in the region.

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