SOGOD, Southern Leyte — Two employees of a gas station were arrested for the alleged illegal sale and trading of suspected smuggled petroleum products worth over P2 million on Thursday in Barangay Tampoong, Sogod, Southern Leyte.

Police Lt. Col. Ian Datiles, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Eastern Visayas, said the two suspects were caught selling and trading petroleum products without a permit or authority from the Department of Energy (DOE), while the gasoline station itself was found to have no Certificate of Compliance (COC).

Datiles said that under Batas Pambansa 33, it is illegal to sell or distribute petroleum products for profit without the necessary license or authority from the proper authorities.

He added that Presidential Decree 1865 (Illegal Trading in Petroleum Products), which amended BP 33, was enacted to address emerging unfair trade practices and ensure energy conservation.

Operatives from the CIDG Southern Leyte Provincial Field Unit and Sogod Municipal Police Station confiscated three storage tanks containing about 29,000 liters of diesel, premium and unleaded gasoline, with a total estimated value of P2,182,400.

Authorities also confiscated the gasoline station’s fuel dispenser pumps, fuel nozzles with hoses and sales invoices.

Datiles said the CIDG, in close coordination with the Department of Energy, is intensifying its monitoring and enforcement operations against illegal trading, hoarding and profiteering involving petroleum products to eliminate unfair trade practices that sabotage the national economy and endanger public safety.