The need for fire trucks and firefighting equipment is far greater than the resources currently at hand, particularly in remote islands, the Bureau of Fire Protection said.
“’Yung BARMM areas is mostly islands, so wala talagang chance. May bumbero tayo doon, naglagay lang tayo ng bumbero, pero bucket brigade kami,” BFP Chief Fire Director Louie Puracan said in a “24 Oras” report by Lei Alviz on Tuesday.
The BFP’s procurement plan for this year covers 94 firetrucks, each costing about P14.5 million. Six local government units (LGUs) each received a new fire truck on Tuesday, but the fire agency said that 1,400 more units are needed.
“Our worry is, ‘yung isang isla, isang bayan. [Kung] walang ka fire trucks, wala talagang makakatulong,” Puracan said. “Kailangan talaga nila ng fire truck. Unlike sa mainland, kahit wala kang fire truck, may katabing bayan na magreresponde.”
Moreover, the BFP also reported the need to replace 2,800 existing fire trucks—or 47% of their vehicles.
In 2022, P1.5 billion was allocated for fire truck procurement, and paid for the trucks that were presented on Tuesday. The budget for this year’s procurement has been cut to P950 million.
Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III has been actively campaigning to increase budget allocations for the BFP.
“Kasi, kahit na isang bayan ay meron nang fire truck, luma na, 20-plus years old na. At siyempre there are new technologies available, new capacity, lalo na sa water, the volume of water na kargado ng fire trucks, so we should take advantage of the new technologies. Pero dahan-dahan, we will be able to fulfill the requests of the BFP,” he said. — Jiselle Anne C. Casucian/BM, GMA Integrated News
