MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / June 17, 2014) – House Deputy Minority Leader Arnel Ty has urged fellow lawmakers to pass a legislation that would improved safety standards of cooking gas facilities in the country following a deadly gas explosion that killed three people in Bantay town in Ilocos Sur province.
Ty said the June 6 explosion at an illegal cooking gas refilling station in the village of Paing also injured two workers – Reden Alporo and Pablo Bermudez. He said the three fatalities – Renato Paet, Moises Gadut, and Cesar Espiritu – succumbed to their wounds.
He said the victims were all employees of the refilling station that did not have the mandatory license to operate and standard compliance certificate from the Department of Energy, and the facility also lacked other basic approvals, including a permit from the Bureau of Fire Protection.
The Ilocos Sur industrial accident was also the second in recent months involving an illicit cooking fuel refilling post. A truck loaded with gas cylinders exploded inside a shifty refilling station in the village of Tejero in Cavite’s General Trias town last year.
The latest tragedy was the deadliest cooking gas explosion since the May 31, 2013 explosion at Two Serendra in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City, which killed three people and seriously injured a tenant.
It also came about only a few days after a gas cylinder exploded at Parola Compound in Tondo, Manila injured 42 persons. The June 2 blast also set off a blaze that swept through a row of homes.
“If we are to avoid the loss of more lives as a result of preventable liquefied petroleum gas-related disasters, Congress should now pass new legislation meant to build up compliance with and enforcement of highly improved safety standards. Both the House and the Senate should not wait for more catastrophic LPG blasts in industrial, commercial and residential settings. Otherwise, we will have blood on our hands,” Ty warned.
Ty was referring to House Bill 756, which mandates comprehensive and rigorous standards meant to ensure the safe storage, refilling, distribution, transportation and consumption of LPG.
“The holdup in the passage of the bill has put public safety at grave risk, including the security of whole neighborhoods where illegal LPG refillers have multiplied,” he said.
Under the stringent safety standards of HB 756, only fully trained and accredited technicians and servicemen may lawfully perform any LPG-related repairs.
20