Solons want more funds to support BFP modernization

MANILA, Philippines — Two House leaders are calling for additional budgetary support to the modernization of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) after a 17-hour fire razed a mall in Tacloban City last Wednesday.

READ: Fire hits mall in Tacloban City

In a statement Monday, Tingog party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez urged the government and the House leadership headed by Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano to prioritize providing more fire trucks, fire stations, and modernized firefighting equipment to the countryside.

“Many towns in the countryside have been using old and dilapidated trucks,” said the chair of the House committee on the welfare of children. She lamented that 26 of the 143 local government units in Eastern Visayas or Region 8 do not have fire trucks or fire stations. House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, Yedda’s husband who chairs the House committee on rules, meanwhile, assured that the chamber would find ways to help fund BFP’s modernization. Yedda further lauded the firefighters and volunteers in the country for their compassion and heroism. “The lives of our firefighters and fire victims are also in great danger if our firefighting equipment is not reliable,” she added. “We should not forget them and we should always recognize and celebrate their heroism.” /kga