NEED FOR MORE FIREFIGHTING EQUIPMENT
GORDON RESPONDS TO BFP'S EMERGENCY

Senator Richard Gordon vowed to look into the claim of the Bureau of Fire Protection that it could not augment its deficient pool of fire trucks even with the purchase of secondhand units due to a prohibition in the law. Gordon, during the Senate's plenary debates of national budget for 2008, found out that the Bureau at present has only 1,272 fire engines nationwide, short by 1,891 units to cover the needs of the 88 million population.

"I am pretty concerned about the inability to firefight of our BFP. A couple of months ago, there was a fire in Siasi, Jolo and it razed and ate up most of the business district. I was shocked to find out that there was not even a single fire truck in this island municipality," Gordon said.

The senator questioned the distribution of fire trucks in the country, which he feared might be skewed in favor of Metro Manila and other cities. "There are many, many municipalities, but are they all covered by the BFP? The BFP says it has 86 fire trucks in the capital. It's a good thing the Filipino-Chinese federations also have about 200 fire trucks and volunteer firefighters and drivers. Perhaps the Bureau can get citizens to volunteer in their own communities to come out with water tankers. We did this in Subic and it was very effective," Gordon explained.

The senator was also saddened by reports that the serviceable fire trucks of BFP could put out fires up to only a height of seven storeys, even though many buildings in Manila and Cebu go as high up as 30-40 floors. "The country does not have a single ladder truck that can reach the heights of skyscrapers," Gordon noted.

Gordon observed that local governments keep granting permits for tall office buildings and condominiums and yet, the capability of the BFP to protect these properties is doubtful. He recalled the burning of the house of Speaker Jose De Venecia, wherein firefighters could not penetrate the building for lack of equipment to break down grills and barriers.

"Our people should not be exposed to the hazards of an uncontained fire. I have nothing but sympathy for the BFP because it seems to be lacking in resources to effectively perform its important task," Gordon said. "If there is no budget for brand new fire trucks, the Bureau should consider the option of procuring second-hand fire trucks and tankers. These are firefighting equipment that will cover the needs of 1,600 municipalities and about 118 cities nationwide. Mabuti na ang may gamit tayo kaysa wala" he insisted.

The senator likewise supported proposed legislation that will give the BFP the authority to use the Fire Code fees that they collect for the purpose of acquiring firefighting equipment.