COA: Fire execs failed to buy equip’t

MANILA, Philippines—Firefighters are expected to rush into burning buildings, but the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) does not seem to be in a hurry to buy much-needed safety equipment for them.

The Commission on Audit found that the BFP failed to spend nearly P700 million in 2009 and 2010 to buy new gear that would have improved safety and the capabilities of firefighters.

In its 2010 report on the BFP, the COA said the bureau failed to use P170 million released in 2009 to buy self-contained breathing apparatus, as well as P522.913 million in cash allocations made available in 2010.

The failure to buy the equipment was due to revisions in the technical specifications of the items, resulting in delays in procurement, the COA noted.

But it said that the BFP needed to step up its game and take advantage of available funds to improve its facilities and equipment, and come up with a better firefighting force.

“Now is the proper time to procure more fire-fighting equipment since the bureau is self-sufficient due to the increased collection of fire code fees intended for the modernization of the BFP… but the vision and mission of the bureau cannot be attained and is still a dream unless management comes up with a precise plan and great endeavor to procure the much needed equipment,” it said.

In its 2010 report on the BFP released recently, the COA said the P170.188 million set aside to buy self-contained breathing apparatus in 2009 had lapsed without being used. The amount was made available on May 12, 2009.

The public bidding was scheduled in July 2009 but was postponed after the fire chief ordered a review of the technical specifications for the possible inclusion of a safety monitoring and information system.

Subsequent biddings failed because the bidders did not comply with requirements. In November 2010, the bids and awards committee recommended a negotiated purchase as an alternative mode of procurement.

Two suppliers—Panpisco Technologies and Sancheong Co. Ltd.—were chosen, but Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo disapproved the purchase order in a Jan. 7, 2011, memorandum, citing the procurement law, and later specified that Budget Secretary Florencio Abad would be responsible for the procurement of the firefighting equipment.

But the COA also noted that the documents were only forwarded to for approval in January 2011, after the lapse of the validity of the allotment for the contract.

“Thus, even if the DILG finds the transaction in order, still it mooted his action on whether or not to approve the subject documents,” it added.

Robredo then directed the BFP to ask the Department of Budget and Management if the validity of the funds could be extended or obligated in favor of the budget department’s procurement service, which would then be responsible for getting the equipment.

The COA also found that P522.913 mllion in notice of cash allocations (NCA) for various activities were reverted back to the national treasury in 2010 because under a DBM circular, all NCA releases are valid only until the last working day of the month and any unutilized NCA would lapse at the end of the month.

It said the amount, had it been used, would have bought a lot of firefighting equipment and could have been used to repair fire trucks, considering that requests from regional offices for funds to repair trucks were not released.

“The frequent reversion of funds to the National Treasury only showed that management is not aggressive enough in the conduct of the procurement process and in the implementation of its projects and programs, and may cause the Department of Budget and Management to cut the budget released to the bureau since the funds were not properly utilized,” it said.

It also noted that in 2010, with amendments to the Fire Code, new fees were collected and the BFP was allowed to use these. Of the collected amount, P416.319 million was available to buy fire trucks. The BFP had asked for the special allotment release order from the DBM on March 23, 2011.