Modernisasyon sa BFP, itinutulak ni Dela Rosa

ITINUTULAK ni Senator Roland “Bato” Dela Rosa ang modernisasyon sa Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) sapagkat napag-iiwanan na ang ahensiya ng foreign counterparts nito.

Sa pamamagitan ng Senate Bill No. 1832 o ang Bureau of Fire Protection Modernization Act of 2020, nais ni Dela Rosa na itaas ang kakayahan ng BFP at gawing mas moderno ang kanilang kagamitan.

Sa pagdinig ng panukalang batas sa modernisasyon ng BFP na isinagawa ng Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs na pinamumunuan ni Dela Rosa, inamin ni BFP Chief Director Jose Embang na malayong-malayo ang Pilipinas sa counterparts nito sa buong mundo pagdating sa mga tauhan, training at kagamitan; at nagpahayag na kinakailangan ng bansa na mapanatili ang international fire safety standards.

Iginiit ni Dela Rosa na napapanahon na upang gawing makabago ang fire bureau para matugunan nito nang maayos ang kanilang mandato.

“The BFP is the country’s primary agency responsible for fire safety, prevention and suppression, as mandated by Republic Act No. 6975. The BFP personnel go beyond their duties of being firefighters as they perform key roles in rescue and retrieval operations in times of calamities and unforeseen disasters,” ani ni Dela Rosa.

“According to the BFP, they now also cater to the public need for emergency pre-hospital care, act as the first line of defense in mass casualty incidents, hazardous material incident response, technical rescue/extrication, and participate in other specialized areas of responses to a variety of incidents that endanger lives and properties,” dagdag pa nito.

Sa ngayon kasi aniya ay ang BFP ang isa sa mga maituturing na most under-armed at under-equipped government agency ng bansa.

Sa datos ng BFP, sa 146 siyudad at 1,488 munisipalidad sa Pilipinas, tanging 1,368 lamang ang may fire stations at fire trucks.

Lumalabas din na mayroong kabuuang 2,848 fire trucks sa buong bansa. Sa bilang na ito, 2,358 ang pagmamay-ari ng BFP, habang 490 naman sa LGU.

“We are far from reaching the ideal ratio of one fire truck for every 28,000 people. For a country with a population of 109 million, we must have at least 3,892 fire trucks,” paliwanag ni Dela Rosa.

Upang tugunan ang isyu sa kakulangan ng tauhan, sasailalim ang Bureau sa Force Restructuring and Organizational Development bilang bahagi ng BFP Modernization Program sa ilalim ng batas.

“At present, there are a total of 405 civilian personnel and 27,968 uniformed personnel in the BFP. Currently, the proportion of fire trucks to fire officers is 1 is to 10, compared to the ideal ratio of one (1) firetruck is to fourteen (14) fire officers.”

Nanawagan din si Dela Rosa sa kanyang kapwa mambabatas na madaliin ang pagpasa sa BFP Modernization bill.

“Your Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs agrees with President Duterte — there is a need to modernize our fire bureau to better save and protect the Filipino people. I urge the body to immediately pass this long overdue legislative measure to help the BFP in pursuing its mandate of  ‘promoting public safety by saving lives and protecting property in times of emergencies,” pagwawakas ni Dela Rosa.