By PNA and U.S. News Agency / Asian

Malacañang said Saturday that the Department of Energy (DOE) will make sure that there is enough supply of cooking gas in the country, saying the DOE is already addressing the reported shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

The Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers Association (LPGMA) confirmed this week that there was a shortage, due to efforts by some suppliers to hold on to their inventory until there are price adjustments.

“Sa aking pagkakaalala sumagot din ang Department of Energy dito and they are working not just with the marketers association but with all the other stakeholders involved to ensure na wala namang ganyang magiging sitwasyon,” Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said in an interview over government-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan on Saturday.

Also this week, Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras assured that there is an adequate supply of LPG in the market as he belied the reported shortage made by some market players.

Almendras also mentioned that the perceived shortage was merely due to the “overdrawing” by the small players.

In this connection, the DOE chief said that a DOE team was formed to investigate the matter.

Almendras pointed out that the problem was not the supply but the refilling stations wanting to buy as much as they could because of an announcement about a price increase next month.

While there is a reported delayed shipment of LPG for small players, Almendras noted that the supply from the big players was stable. The DOE will also investigate the delayed LPG shipment, he said.