Lapu law on refilled butane canisters out this month
EATERY owner Alex Ybañez is dismayed to learn that a Lapu-Lapu City ordinance that will ban the production, sale, use and distribution of refilled butane canisters will take effect this month.
“Maayo man gud unta ni kay bisan og duna kay gamay nga kwarta, makaluto na ka, dili sama sa LPG tank nga hasol pa ang pagpalit kay bug-at ug mahal pa (Refilled butane canisters are good because if you only have a little money, you can already cook unlike LPG tanks which are heavy to transport and expensive),” Ybañez said.
Lapu-Lapu City Councilor Alexander Gestopa Jr., who authored the ordinance banning refilled butane canisters, said they will publish the ordinance in dailies after it is signed by the mayor this March which is Fire Prevention Month.
Fire marshals in Metro Cebu said some fire outbreaks were caused by butane canisters that were refilled with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and were either damaged or overheated.
Ybañez, a resident of Sangi Interior in barangay Pajo, Lapu-Lapu City, said he may be constrained to buy LPG tanks if the ordinance takes into effect.
Gestopa said the police will take the lead in enforcing the ordinance by seizing refilled butane canisters and arresting those found to be transporting and selling them.
Last December, the Cebu Budget LP Gas Association voiced its opposition to the ordinance.
They said the government only needs to create an agency that would monitor and regulate the sale, use and distribution of refilled butane canisters.
“Using refilled butane canisters is practical, cheap and easy to transport. Many cannot afford to buy an LPG tank),” said Jun Alforque, vice president of the Cebu Province LPG Re-fillers Association.
But Gestopa said three fire outbreaks that displaced 50 families last year were caused by damaged refilled butane canisters.
Regional Director Antonio Labios of the Department of Energy (DOE) said the tin canisters are not built to contain LPG.
SFO4 Diomed Alburo, chief administrator of the Lapu-Lapu City Fire Central District, said the ordinance authorizes traffic enforcers and police to apprehend vehicles transporting these refilled butane canisters.
The ordinance fines violators P3,000 for the first offense as well as impounding the vehicles used to transport the canisters.
Those selling the refilled canisters with no business permits will be fined P5,000.
In Mandaue City, the City Council approved on first reading a similar ordinance against the sale, use and distribution of refilled butane canisters within the city in February last year.
Councilor Jimmy Lumapas, who authored the ordinance, said the measure prohibits the City Treasurer’s Office from issuing business permits to firms or persons engaged in the refilling of butane canisters.
In Cebu City, Councilor Nestor Archival Sr. wants to propose an ordinance regulating the use of refilled butane canisters in the city before his term ends.
“I’m still trying to gather information from the Department of Energy (DOE) on how we should go about regulating butane refillers like the technical specifications on the materials and other inputs,” Archival said.
With Mandaue City passing its own ordinance on butane canister refilling, Archival said he will use the ordinance as reference to crafting the city’s own law on the issue.
Archival sits as the chairperson of the Committee on Energy in the Cebu City Council.
He admitted that refilling butane canisters with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is extremely hazardous as the canisters aren’t made to contain LPG.
Archival said he will ask the DOE if it’s possible to impose a limit on the number of times a butane canister may be refilled with LPG to ensure that it doesn’t give out and possibly explode.
“Once we regulate, we need to know the specifications because there are certain penalties. We need to know how these can fit in the specifications. Do we need to gauge it? Or weigh it? These are some of the things we need to know,” Archival added.
He said based on his research, a household will need to shell out P700 to P800 for an 11kg tank of LPG for around a month’s use.
If a household uses refilled butane canisters which are sold at P12 each, people will only have to spend P300 a month.
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