A lawmaker on Wednesday sought to devolve the supervision of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) industry from the Department of Energy (DoE) to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in ight of the warning by a DTI executive that smuggling could be behind the proliferation of defective LPG tanks in the country.

Catanduanes Rep. Joseph Santiago said “the DTI should be fully empowered to accredit LPG importers and suppliers, ascertain the fairness of retail prices, establish and impose safety and filling standards, and to penalize unscrupulous traders,"

He said the DTI is in the best position to ensure unfettered competition as well as consumer protection against unfair trade practices, including price manipulation.

"This is all about strong enforcement. And there is no question that over the years the DTI has demonstrated superior capability with respect to enforcement," Santiago stressed.

"Regardless who is at the helm of DTI, as an institution, it has always commanded far greater respect and thus stronger compliance, particularly when compared to the DoE," the solon noted.

As such, he said, Congress is prepared to help further build up the DTI’s enforcement capabilities with extra staff and funding, if necessary, to thoroughly superintend the LPG industry.

The Consumer and Oil Price Watch (COPW) led by industrialist Raul Concepcion has been pushing for DTI oversight of the LPG trade. Due to highly volatile oil prices, the cooking gas trade has come under attack from profiteers and hoarders as well as illicit and substandard refillers.

According to the COPW, of the estimated 12 million LPG cylinders in circulation today, six million are "in good condition," three million are "unfit for use and must be condemned as scrap," and another three million "are due for repair and testing" by the Bureau of Product Standards.

Earlier on, DTI Undersecrery Zenaida Maglaya told in a radio an interview that defective LPG tanks could be smuggled into the country under the guise of scrap metals.

"Sa dami ng nagliliparan diyan, and I think some of them are coming in smuggled, lumalabas na parang pumapasok as scrap pero actually mga secondhand cylinder. Kailangan talaga palakasin ang batas nito at yung mga sanction at enforcement," she said.