Question & AnswerQ&A (PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1865)
The main purpose of Presidential Decree No. 1865 is to amend Batas Pambansa Bilang 33 by including additional prohibited acts such as shortselling and adulteration of petroleum products, increasing penalties, and providing government agencies with tools to effectively curtail nefarious practices involving petroleum and petroleum products.
Prohibited acts include illegal trading in petroleum and/or petroleum products, adulteration or possession of adulterated petroleum products for sale, underdelivery or underfilling of petroleum products or LPG cylinders, hoarding, overpricing, misuse of petroleum allocations, speed contests without permits, and unauthorized activities such as skydiving and water skiing without using methanol for power boats.
Illegal trading refers to the sale or distribution of petroleum products without license or authority from the Bureau of Energy Utilization, non-issuance of receipts, unauthorized refilling of LPG cylinders, use of false tare weights, violation of bureau rules, unauthorized unloading of petroleum products, use of uncalibrated or unsealed equipment, and use of unregistered delivery vehicles.
Adulteration means mixing any petroleum product with another petroleum product or any non-petroleum substance that changes the quality or causes the product to fail meeting required standards, specifically for finished petroleum products like gasoline, diesel, kerosene, or lubricating oils.
Cylinders containing less than required quantities that are not properly identified, tagged, and removed from public display are presumed to be for sale, constituting a prima facie evidence of intent to defraud by marketers, dealers, sub-dealers, or retail outlets.
Convicted persons face fines from Twenty Thousand Pesos (P20,000) up to Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000), imprisonment from two (2) to five (5) years, or both. Subsequent offenses shall carry both fine and imprisonment. Forfeiture of the petroleum products involved also applies, along with cancellation of licenses for traders.
The Bureau may impose fines not exceeding Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000), suspend or revoke licenses or permits of violators after due notice and hearing, and suspend business operations during the administrative process if consistent with public interest.
The president, general manager, managing partner, or other responsible officers or employees charged with management of the entity’s affairs can be held criminally liable.
The government official or employee convicted under this law shall be perpetually disqualified from holding public office.
Trials must be terminated within thirty (30) days after arraignment.