MANILA – Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), the main mode of cooking for millions of households in Metro Manila and other urban centers in the country, are slowly emerging in the market following the rise in their prices.
But this did not stop irate consumers from demanding in the dismissal of Secretary Angelo Reyes of the Department of Energy who is being blamed for the sudden disappearance since December until end of January 2009 of LPG.
Aside from cooking, LPG is now also being used by several taxicab and bus companies as fuel for their vehicles.
Many of the consumers complained that despite the appearance of LPG in the market, they still have to line up to get their supplies from dealers.
What apparently added to the consumers’ woes and anger was that the LPG return to the market coincided with the increase in prices, which are equivalent to more than 10 US cents per kilogram.
As a result, consumers now have to pay about $10 per 12-kilogram tank of LPG, if the supply is available.
For the 12 million residents in Metro Manila, in particular, the rise in prices of LPG appeared to have acted as a “double whammy” because of the announcement of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) that it approved the petition of the two private water concessionaires also to increase their rates.
The MWSS said its board approved the petition of Manila Water and Maynilad Water for the rate increase to enable them to cope with the problems they are facing with inflation and repayment of their foreign loans.
Meanwhile, as the demand for his resignation intensified, Reyes blamed hoarders for the “artificial shortage” of LPG in Metro Manila.
Reyes assured the LPG industry will normalize once the government succeeds in putting a stop to illegal hoarders and refillers.
He defined illegal refillers as traders who use the LPG cylinders of the major suppliers but get their supply from various sources.
Reyes also blamed the loopholes in the law which, he insisted, hindered the successful prosecution of violators.
“There is no shortage of LPG in the Visayas and Mindanao,” the embattled energy secretary claimed. “Hoarding is the culprit.”
But his assurance was met with calls from irate consumers in the Visayas and Mindanao that flooded radio stations based in Metro Manila, who complained that despite the increase in their prices, LPG was not yet easily available in the market.
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