DOE to fine butane station owner, but no mass confiscation
THE Department of Energy (DOE) will file an administrative case against the owner of the butane refilling station whose eight employees were injured by a butane canister explosion last November 3. ( Read :Eight injured in butane explosion inside home )
Saul Gonzalez, chief of DOE’s Energy Industry Management Division, said they will recommend the filing of charges against butane refilling station owner Amor Pelenia to Cebu City Hall’s Legal Office.
Gonzales said they have no strong legal basis to file a criminal charge.’
Pelenia had no business permit or any other paperwork for her home-based LPG refilling station using butane cans.
Amor Pelenia.
She lacked a Standard Compliance Certificate from the Department of Energy, a business permit from the mayor’s office, a certificate from the Bureau of Fire Protection and an Environment Compliance Certificate (ECC) issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Cebu City Fire Marshal Rogello Bongabong said Pelenia told him that she was operating her business for over a year now.
He said the explosion was caused by a leak in a butane canister that was exposed to the heat of a candle placed on a nearby altar. Her workers were not refilling LPG but piercing canisters at the time, she said. Pelenia will be meted a P60,000 fine based on DOE’s 2014 department circular.
Gonzales also said the DOE cannot confiscate illegal canisters for lack of a canister confiscation facility.
Cebu City Councilor Nestor Archival, who presided over yesterday’s City Council session, said confiscation may not be the answer since the public is already accustomed to using cheap refilled butane canisters.
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