Friday, July 16, 2004 CIDG seize P500T worth of fake LPG cylinders By Ben O. Tesiorna
AT LEAST 500 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders suspected to be fabricated by a Filipino-owned gas company were confiscated by elements of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 11 in a series of raids, Wednesday night.
CIDG operatives first raided a warehouse in Barangay Baliok, Talomo where original LPG cylinders of Petron, Shellane and Petronas were said to be "reconstructed" and made to look like Pryce LPG cylinders.
Welding equipments, silkscreen and other materials said to be used in fabricating the cylinders were confiscated from the Baliok warehouse.
After the raid, authorities proceeded to Pryce Gas refilling plant in Barangay Astorga, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur. Authorities were able to seize at least four trucks of Pryce LPG cylinders believed to be fabricated.
A total of about 500 assorted cylinders were confiscated by authorities.
A representative from Shellane, who requested anonymity, said each 11 kilogram cylinder cost approximately P800 while the 50 kg cylinders cost at P2,000 each.
He placed the total value of the confiscated cylinders at around P500,000.
Denial
Pryce Gas Inc. manager Jose Escaño, however, denied his company's involvement in the alleged fabrication of cylinders. He said they do not own the alleged fabrication shop in Barangay Baliok.
Escaño added that all of their cylinders are originally manufactured in Manila. He also denied that they are illegaly refilling cylinders of Shellane, Petron and Petronas at their station in Astorga.
Escaño said the raiding team had actually confiscated four 11-kg cylinders, two 50-kg cylinders and six 2.8-kg cylinders inside their Astorga refilling plant.
He added that the rest of the confiscated cylinders belong to their dealers some of whom were also dealing other LPG products aside from Pryce Gas.
"Kaya may nakuha silang mga ibang tanke (Shellane, Petronas) na pagmamay-ari ng aming mga dealer. Pero di namin yun nirerefill, yung mga Pryce LPG cylinders lang ang nirerefill namin sa aming planta," Escaño said.
He claimed that the confiscation of cylinders other than the 11-kg cylinders is illegal considering that the search warrants issued by the court only stated 11-kg cylinders and does not include the 50-kg and 2.8-kg cylinders.
Ill-motivated raid
Escaño said the raid is purely motivated to "kill" their company so that other multinational gas companies will no longer have a stiff competitor here in Mindanao.
He said their dealers affected by the raid are planning to file harassment charges against the raiding team before the Ombudsman.
The authorities meanwhile are preparing to file violations of R.A. 8293 (Intellectual Property Code) and R.A. 623 (Container's Law) against owners of the Pryce Gas Inc.
CIDG remains mum on the issue as of press time.
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