By LITO RULONA,
Correspondent
The City Council has finally passed an ordinance prohibiting individuals from selling and retailing of unsafe and sub-standard petroleum products, specifically those using softdrink or plastic bottles, jugs, and other similar containers in the city.
City councilors approved during their latest session the City Ordinance No. 13121-2016 authored by city councilor Teodulfo Lao, chairman of the committee on energy.
Named as the illegal “Bote-bote” Retailing of Liquid Petroleum Products Ordinance of 2016, Lao said he authored the ordinance to protect the lives and properties of Kagayanons.
“They might be thinking that the city government has done nothing on this issue considering that fire incidents have already happened because of this unlawful and unsafe sale of petroleum products,” he said.
He said this kind of business is illegal and has brought hazard in the different communities of the city.
It can be recalled that the committee held a series of meetings with concerned agencies and parties regarding the proliferation and rampant selling of liquid petroleum products in the city.
The illegal sale of petroleum products has also deprived the city government of revenues, Lao added.
In a press statement, Section 3 of the ordinance requires the person engaged or intending to engage in the retailing of liquid petroleum products to comply with the city’s minimum standards.
It provides that the retailing of liquid petroleum products shall be conducted in duly approved premises with an initial minimum lot area of 100 square meters and where vehicles being serviced shall at all times be inside the duly approved business premises and shall only be carried out through fixed and permanent dispensing pumps duly approved by the city government and Department of Energy (DOE).
The owner and/or operator of the retail outlet must possess valid permits, licenses and certification for the retailing, storage, handling, transfer and/or dispensing of liquid petroleum products from the City Mayor’s Office.
The construction and operation of the retail outlet must also comply with all applicable laws, rules, regulations and city ordinances or face penalties.
The ordinance also creates Task Force Bote-Bote, composed of the city treasurer as the head, city police director as the vice head, city fire marshal, Association of Barangay Council president or representative, Roads and Traffic Administration head, City Equipment Depot manager, city legal officer, five personnel from the City Treasurer’s Office duly designated by the city treasurer, three police officers duly designated by the city police director, five RTA personnel, three Equipment Depot personnel and punong barangay of barangays where there are bote-bote operators as ex-officio members.
The duties of the task force is to recommend the issuance of executive order to the city mayor, if necessary, to intensify and strengthen the implementation of the ordinance or other related laws and may propose any amendments and inspect, plan and monitor the city to determine that no illegal retailing of petroleum products is existing.
As reviewed by the City Legal Office, the provisions contained in the ordinance conforms to the rules and regulations issued by DOE governing the business of retailing liquid petroleum products (DOE Department Circular No. DC 2003-11-010).
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