MANILA, Philippines—Despite people lining up to buy cooking gas, there is no shortage of supply, Pampanga Representative Juan Miguel Arroyo said Wednesday as he concurred with the contention of Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes and the major industry players that there is enough for everybody.

Arroyo, who heads the House committee on energy, said at the conclusion of a hearing on the purported shortage that the problem actually lies with the distribution of LPG, which the Department of Energy should address.

Reyes also made the same claim, and blamed the illegal refillers and hoarders who reduce the number of LPG cylinders circulating in the market and thus endanger the industry.

The major LPG suppliers said they had prioritized the delivery of the supply to dealers and retailers with whom they have contracts, and to their own branded cylinders.

“Nobody is disputing the fact that there is enough supply in the country. It's very, very, very, very comforting to hear.... So the people shouldn't go into a panic because there is enough supply in the country,” Arroyo said in an interview.

But not all of Arroyo's colleagues seemed to share his view.

Bayan Muna Representative Teodoro Casiño said that though big oil players claim they have adequate supply, there is still a shortage if the LPG tanks do not reach consumers.

“I still cannot fathom why the DOE is saying there's no shortage. It's like the DPWH saying there's no collusion in bidding,” Casiño said.

“Those in the industry say there is a spike in demand and they had to do extraordinary things to meet the demand. Then the major players are telling us they have to prioritize allied refillers,” he said.

“So it appears... there was a shortage at the level of the consumers. Theoretically, there is a supply but if it's in the storage area... as far as we're concerned, there is a shortage,” Casiño added.

Nueva Ecija Representative Rodolfo Antonino pointed to Reyes' presentation that major players in the market have a buffer stock of LPG, and asked where it was since “there is a shortage at the consumer level.”

“At the top of the ladder there is a supply of 20,000 to 30,000 metric tons. And at the bottom we have testimony and reports there are shortages occurring at the retail level,” Antonino said.

Antonino asked Petron representative Jo Pojol whether the “tightness” in supply being felt was actually a shortage. He pointed out that Shell and Petron also got LPG from Liquigas, which he took to mean that the two firms did not have enough for their own needs.

Pojol replied that when the LPG demand surged in December, the oil firm tried to manage its inventory and concentrated the distribution of its cylinders to its dealers, which was why the volume for independent refillers was diminished.

Zambales Representative Milagros Magsaysay asked Shell's Roberto Kanapi why the company was claiming to be able to meet LPG demand when there are still long lines of people who were being turned away.

Kanapi replied that the ones having problems were the independent refillers, and despite them serving a smaller percentage of the population, this segment was located in Metro Manila. He added that these independent refillers were also the ones being covered by the media.

For his part, Arnel Ty, President of the LPG Marketers Association, said he reported the tightness in the LPG supply in December because that was the information he got from the oil companies.

He said it would be difficult for marketers to band together to create a shortage by hoarding because there are too many LPG outlets.

“I think it is easier for three oil companies to talk and agree not to release [supply],” he added.

Bernie Bolisay, representative of the LPG Refillers Association, also disputed claims that refillers were hoarding LPG cylinders and causing a shortage “for the simple reason there is nothing to hoard.”

During the hearing, Reyes said refillers create problems when they use tanks of branded cylinders, which they are not supposed to do.This is because only the oil firms who branded the cylinders could refill them, since any defect on the item would be attributed to them.

“These illegal refillers are the ones destroying the industry,” he said.

But these refillers also cause a problem when they keep branded cylinders that they do not refill, thus taking these items out of the market.

As for the problem of distribution, Reyes said the DOE would work closely with the oil firms in projecting the demand for LPG, so that it could suggest how much the companies should import. But he stressed that the DOE's role was limited to suggestion, since the industry was deregulated.

Parañaque Representative Roilo Golez asked whether Reyes should have command responsibility for the LPG problems.

Reyes replied he did not cause the problems in the LPG supply since there were external factors that led to price increases and delayed delivery of imports. He said no fair person would define command responsibility as being answerable for all problems since time immemorial.

“I have command responsibility over things I can control,” he said.