Councilor seeks probe into illegal sale of fuel

CAGAYAN de Oro City Councilor Leon Gan on August 20 called for an investigation on the alleged illegal selling and distribution of fuel by big corporations that are not authorized to do so.

Gan said he has documents to prove that some big establishments are putting up overhead fuel tanks illegally to offer it to other firms involved in trucking services.

"There are big establishments who engage the services of another firm involve in the trucking, but instead of going to regular fueling stations, the trucks get fuel from the company who decided to put up their own overhead tank. They are requiring their partners that instead of buying fuel from the outside, they buy it to their partners and the payment is through deduction," he said.

Gan said the practice is "prejudicial" to the city since they did not secure permits, did not pay the appropriate taxes for this purpose, and they are not registered with the Department of Energy.

Gan said this is also unfair to existing fuel dealers who have complied with the necessary permits.

"We need to conduct investigation because they pose danger to the community because they are selling illegally," he said.

"Perhaps we can launch an entrapment. I have the names of these companies but I will only reveal it to the committee who will investigate this," he added.

The matter was referred to the committee on public utilities and plans to incorporate this another illegal scheme to an existing ordinance that prohibits selling "bote-bote" fuels.