Tragedies

A tragedy happened last July. It was a structural fire set off by a leaking LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) cylinder. The fire swallowed an entire house in Belmont Crest Subdivision in General Trias, Cavite. That house belonged to the Zoilo family.

Rene Zoilo had sensed danger when he smelled the leaking LPG, and immediately took his wife and three children outside their home, bringing the gas cylinder. He stayed outside for ten full minutes, waiting for the highly flammable gas to dissipate. Thinking everything was safe, he told the family to go inside.

Only to realize it was not. The gas he smelled earlier had not totally left the house.

Someone flicked a match to light a cigarette not far from the house, and suddenly, the once peaceful subdivision of Belmont Crest was seized by an enormous fire. Silence and peace had turned to absolute chaos.

The house exploded in fire, trapping the Zoilo family inside.

The house, which they considered a safe haven, had become a fiery prison – and their very executioner.

The neighbors ran to their rescue, helping the badly hurt victims to the nearest hospital. One of the children died, despite the heroic efforts of the doctors to save him

Mrs. Zoilo died a few days later, followed by her husband.

The LPG cylinder sat quietly outside, oblivious to that fact it had just killed a father, a mother, and a child.

It was a tragedy waiting to happen – the moment they bought that substandard LPG cylinder, refilled by an illegal company based in Calamba, Laguna.

The Zoilos were not the only victims of illegally refilled gas cylinders.

Jerry Lopez did not see it coming. He thought his house was safe and perfectly secure. His two children and his nephew were playing in the living room, gaily shouting, like they used to everyday. Jerry looked at them, secure in the thought that his house was the safest in the world.

But that was before the explosion.

It burned everything. In a matter of seconds, the raging fire claimed everything Jerry Lopez held dear: his beloved children, his nephew, his house, his possessions.

No, we are not talking about a terrorist raid, nor a war, nor a random bomb attack. We are talking about a simple, defective, and fake LPG tank.

The incalculable pains and losses that Jerry Lopez suffered that day were not because of war, religion, or ideology. No, Jerry Lopez lost the three children because of greed. Honey Shane Lopez, her three-year-old brother Flitzer, and their cousin Jimboy – they all died because of greed, and nothing has been done about it.

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Substandard LPG cylinders are bombs waiting to explode. And the worst thing is, people buy these everyday. They trust these cylinders, not knowing that they are buying something that can possibly cost them their lives.

Illegal businesses that participate in the unregulated manufacture, distribution and sales of fake, substandard LPG cylinders are everywhere. They trade a customer’s safety, in exchange for a cheaper, and more affordable LPG tank. Of course, they dare not tell their customers the story of the Zoilo and the Lopez families.

The authorities can do something about it. If only they will. They can stop the distribution of these fake cylinders, and in the process, save people’s lives.

Another family is out there, with a substandard LPG cylinder in their stove. They do not know of the tragedy that befell the Zoilos and Lopezes. They do not know what can happen with a single flick of a fuse switch.

We know . . . the authorities know. What are we going to do about it?

Someone out there, a criminal is smiling, holding his millions of pesos, thanking his fortunes that poor people like Rene and Jerry buy his fake gas cylinders. He holds his other million, thanking the authorities for not doing their job – for allowing criminals like him to do what he wanted. Then finally he thanks himself – that he doesn’t have to use his own gas. After all, he didn’t want his house to get burned like Rene’s and Jerry’s did.

Now, where is the justice in that?

What kind of society promotes stiff ignorance – a society that ignores the pleas of the victims, as well as the crimes of their perpetrators? What kind of society punishes civilian law-abiders, and rewards the criminals? What kind of society ignores the death cries of children, and have their killers roam free?

How many Zoilos, or Honeys, Flitzers, or Jimboys does it take to finally awaken these people’s sense of justice – top finally punish these illegal LPG fillers?

As always, we do not know the answer, since the answer lies upon the decisions of those in authority.

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