THIRTEEN individuals were arrested after police uncovered an alleged illegal petroleum and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) transfer operation in Lucena City, Quezon, seizing millions worth of fuel, vehicles and equipment.
The operation was conducted around 4:20 p.m. on Monday, July 27, 2026, inside a compound in Barangay Silangang Mayao by joint operatives from the Police Regional Office 4A’s Regional Special Operations Unit, Regional Intelligence Division, the Quezon Police Provincial Office Intelligence Unit and the Lucena City Police.
“We received information about a group engaged in the illegal transfer of petroleum products, locally known as ‘paihi,’ as well as the unauthorized refilling or decanting of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Our personnel then placed the operation under surveillance and also used drones during the monitoring,” Calabarzon police director Brigadier General Dominic Baccay said.
Police said the suspects were caught in the act of transferring diesel from tanker trucks into intermediate bulk containers while LPG was being refilled from a tanker into cylinders, activities prohibited under the Oil Pilferage Law and the LPG Industry Regulation Act.
The arrested suspects included truck drivers and laborers, who are facing charges for alleged violations of Presidential Decree 1865, or the Oil Pilferage Law, and Republic Act 11592, or the LPG Industry Regulation Act.
Recovered during the operation were three tanker trucks, two Isuzu ELF trucks, a Mitsubishi Fuso truck loaded with 10,000 liters of LPG, about 23,500 liters of diesel stored in tanker trucks and containers, 285 LPG cylinders of assorted brands, chemical and hydraulic hoses, diesel water pumps, and other equipment allegedly used in the operation.
The seized petroleum products, LPG, vehicles and equipment were valued at about P16.29 million.
“Apparently, the petroleum products came from a depot in Sariaya, Quezon, and were being distributed to small players selling petroleum products, including small gasoline stations,” Baccay said.
Following the operation, Philippine National Police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. ordered all police regional offices to intensify intelligence gathering and enforcement operations against oil pilferage, unauthorized fuel transfers and illegal LPG refilling activities nationwide.
He also directed provincial, city and municipal police units to identify and monitor warehouses, storage facilities and other sites suspected of being used for illegal petroleum operations.
Nartatez said the Lucena operation underscores the PNP’s commitment to dismantling illegal fuel activities that threaten public safety, deprive the government of revenues and undermine the economy.
He added that investigators will pursue not only those arrested during the operation but also the financiers and organizers behind the alleged illegal fuel network. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)