Department of Energy officials had inspected the depots of three big petroleum companies in Lapu-Lapu City whether these had complied with Republic Act 9637, or the Biofuel Act.
The inspection team, led by Mario Marasigan, DOE-biofuel in-charge in Manila, and Zenaida Monsada, DOE director for Oil Industry Management Bureau, went to the depots of Caltex, Shell, and Petron.
The Biofuel Act was enforced since May 6, and Marasigan said the inspection was done to make sure that the provisions of the law are implemented in these depots in Cebu.
The law mandates the mixing of one percent of biodiesel in petro-diesel and five percent of ethanol in gasoline over the first four years.
DOE inspectors got two bottles of diesel from the Caltex depot and examined these with the diesel analyzer. From there, they went to the Shell and Petron depots for similar examinations.
Monsada said, "We are happy with the results showing everybody is following (the law)," adding that non-compliance would be penalized with a penalty of between P1 million and P5 million in fine, and a 5-year imprisonment.
Caltex-Cebu manager Willy Pineda said, "Matagal na namin inimplement ito, as earlier as April pa. Hindi naman nakakasira ito (biodiesel) dahil may study before implementing the law."
Marasigan, for his part, said, "Hope yon apprehension ng iba dyan nga makakasira, hindi po totoo yan and in fact ito ay environment friendly pa."
Aside from DOE, another government agency also tapped to sustain the enforcement of the law is the Department of Finance, through the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Internal Revenues, to monitor the production and importation of biofuels.
The Tariff Commission has created and classified a tariff line for biofuels and biofuel-blends, in line with international agreements, while the local governments have been called to assist the DOE in monitoring the sales and distribution of these fuels.
The Department of Labor also helped in promoting livelihood opportunities and facilitate productive employment by ensuring workers' access to productive resources and social protection coverage.
The Department of Science and Technology, and the Department of Agriculture had joined hands in studies to identify and develop feedstock and technology for the production of biofuels.
Meanwhile, government engineers are now studying the possibility of increasing the mixture of biodiesel to two percent and ethanol to 10 percent. - Ramil V. Ayuman/RAE