MANILA – Around 41.3 percent, or 78 of 189 fuel stations in Luzon and the Visayas placed under the fuel marking program of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) failed the field tests.
On the other hand, 111 stations passed the field test as of Oct. 13, 2026, the bureau said in a news release Monday, as it announced that the fuel marking program has been expanded to 10 revenue regions.
“Affected pumps were sealed from 78 establishments, with 900,250.69 liters of fuel inventory associated with failed field tests,” it said.
BIR said the program covered Revenue Region (RR) No. 5 – CAMANAVA and Bulacan; RR No. 6 – City of Manila and Palawan; RR No. 7A – Quezon City; RR No. 7B – East National Capital Region; RR No. 8A – Makati City; RR No. 8B – South NCR; RR No. 11 – Western Visayas; RR No. 12 – Negros Island; RR No. 13 – Central Visayas; and RR No. 14 – Eastern Visayas.
BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza said they will trace the sources of the fuel up to the depot level to ensure compliance among all players.
“We will pursue these findings thoroughly, but we must also be fair in our enforcement. Any finding of non-compliance must be supported by proper verification,” he said.
BIR said this move is part of the agency’s “DARES reform agenda under Revenue Collection and Base Protection, which calls for stronger enforcement against illicit trade and other activities that erode the revenue base and place compliant businesses at a disadvantage.”
