DOE: No LPG shortage in Cebu

CEBU - The Department of Energy-Cebu Division assured Cebuanos that there is no shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) here.

This assurance came amidst the shortage of LPG supply in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon.

Saul Gonzales, chief of the Energy Industry Management Division, said that as far as their monitoring is concerned there is no LPG shortage in the province.

According to Gonzales, they also have not received any notice from DOE Manila on warnings or any signs of a shortage of LPG.

“Atong supply sa LPG diri sa Cebu gikan man na sa Manila. Pero maski dunay reports nga short ang uban parts of Manila sa LPG kay wala man na-apektuhan ang gi-allocate na supply para sa Cebu,” he said.

Gonzalez said that their office is continuously monitoring the circulation of LPG in the whole province and the prices of the product.

The House Committee on Energy has started investigating the shortage of supply of LPG.

Taxi Operators Unfazed

Richard Cabucos, president of The Metro Cebu Taxi Operators told The FREEMAN yesterday that there is nothing to fear if there will be scarcity of auto-LPG in Cebu as they can always shift to using gasoline.

 Cabucos said 95 percent of the more than 6,000 taxi units operating in Cebu are using auto-LPG, which is cheaper compared to using gasoline.

Cabucos said that once the supply for auto-LPG will run out, they can use gasoline.

He said that this can also justify their request to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to reinstate the P10 add-on for the fare.

It maybe recalled that LTFRB ordered the removal of the P10 add-on rate for taxi last December 15, 2008 when prices of fuel went down.

 LTFRB is set to hear the petition this February 18 to determine whether to make the removal permanent or not.

 Earlier, the LTFRB assured that taxi units using LPG are safe if not safer and have cleaner emissions than vehicles that run on gasoline or diesel. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/NLQ   (THE FREEMAN)