‘Bote-bote’ fuel banned in Ifugao town

BAGUIO CITY — The municipal government of Lamut in Ifugao has banned the sale, distribution, retailing, and storing of gasoline and other petroleum products in improvised containers, locally known as “bote-bote,” citing fire, explosion, and environmental risks.

In a recent public advisory on social media, the local government urged traders and sari-sari store owners to comply with the ordinance, which the Lamut Sangguniang Bayan approved on June 30.

The new regulation imposes fines and business permit sanctions on violators.

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READ: 10 nabbed in illegal fuel transport operation in Surigao del Norte

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A first offense carries a P1,000 penalty, confiscation of the contraband fuel, and a one-month suspension of the business permit. A second offense carries a P1,500 fine and a three-month suspension, while a third offense carries a P2,500 fine and the revocation of the business permit.

The ban covers the use of soft drink bottles, plastic containers, jugs, and other similar unauthorized receptacles for selling or storing petroleum products.

A municipal task force will enforce the ordinance, with the police, the Bureau of Fire Protection, Lamut’s Business Permit and Licensing Office, the Municipal General Services Office, barangay officials and tanods, and a Department of Energy representative.

They said they will inventory the confiscated fuel and bring it to a designated municipal storage facility. The BFP will assess the fuel after five days. If the fuel is still suitable for use, authorities may confiscate it and use it in government vehicles with the mayor’s approval.

The ordinance cites the Revised Fire Code of the Philippines and a Department of Energy memorandum circular on petroleum products as the basis for the intensified enforcement./coa