Illegal auto gas refillers rampant in Baguio City

By Dexter A See

BAGUIO CITY -- Unscrupulous businessmen here have started to operate alleged illegal refilling stations of auto gas in the different parts of the city creating undue competition with legitimate dealers of the alternative fuel widely patronized by private and public utility vehicle owners.

Concerned auto gas dealers called on government agencies regulating the auto gas business to conduct a routine inspection among all dealers of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and they will find out among themselves the malpractices of such businessmen who just want to earn profit but not to ensure the safety of motorists.

In some parts of the city, a number of LPG refilling stations are allegedly selling cooking gas to private and public utility vehicles which were already converted to use auto gas as fuel.

Ironically, the cooking gas being infused to the fuel tanks of the vehicles are not the preferred brand of auto gas since it is very dirty and would cause the immediate malfunctioning of the engines of the vehicles.

The alarmed auto gas dealers said those patronizing refilling stations of cooking gas for their fuel frequently subject their vehicles to repairs because of clogged air filters among others but they continue to patronize the ill-advised cooking gas as their fuel because of supposed cheaper rates.

Under existing rules jointly promulgated by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Energy, auto gas dealers are not allowed to sell cooking gas while cooking gas refillers are not allowed to sell auto gas.

At present, cooking gas is cheaper by P0.80 per liter compared to auto gas, thus, some thrifty vehicle drivers want to save on cost by patronizing cooking as their alternative fuel without knowing that such malpractice would result in the damage of their engines in the future.

A good number of private and public vehicle owners in the city are now opting to convert their vehicles from gasoline-fed to auto gas because of the unaffordable prices of oil in the local market.

The prevailing piece of auto gas in the city is P34.25 per liter while gasoline is a little less than P60 per liter.

Cooking gas dealers are starting to illegally venture on the sale of their products to vehicle owners even tough it is not advisable because of the growing market brought about by the unstoppable oil price hike, thus, legitimate businessmen who have undergone the tedious process of securing government permits and clearances are deprived of such marked when they were the ones who pioneered the said business in the city.

There are at least 220 private and public utility vehicles in Baguio and Benguet who have already opted to convert from gasoline-fed to the use of auto gas and are now enjoying substantial income as well as fuel efficiency in their daily routine.

Out of the said number of auto gas-fed vehicles, 190 are public utility jeepneys and taxis plying different routes in the city and the nearby province of Benguet.