BFP execs probed over positions for sale
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said on Friday over 200 personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), including all its regional directors, are being investigated for an alleged scheme in which applicants are asked to pay for available “slots” or positions in the agency.
At a press briefing at Camp Crame, Remulla vowed to “clean up” the BFP, an agency of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). “This will be a massive purge,” he said.
“We’re now investigating more than 200 personnel regarding the slots-for-sale [scheme],” he said, adding that “as of now, all regional directors are being investigated.”
But the BFP and the Philippine National Police have yet to finalize how many “slot-selling” cases are being investigated, he said.
Relieved SFO
Police in Pampanga recently arrested a BFP official from Metro Manila with the rank of senior fire officer (SFO) 1, who allegedly asked an applicant at the bureau’s Central Luzon office to hand her an initial P500,000.
Fire Chief Supt. Wilberto Rico Neil Kwan Tiu, BFP officer in charge, said at the briefing the SFO concerned had been relieved from her post and is now facing dismissal proceedings.
According to police, this SFO had also allegedly claimed to have successfully orchestrated the hiring of four other applicants in the past year.
Remulla said these four applicants have been subpoenaed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the PNP.
“They can either testify…or we will charge them because they paid,” the interior chief said. “If they testify, we will give them clemency because they are as much … victim[s]. But they have to come out with all the deeds.”
Remulla said earlier the arrested SFO had named a “senior fire commissioned officer” as an accomplice—further identifying that official as a deputy director for administration in BFP Calabarzon.
P100K to P800K
Kwan Tiu also said the BFP and police had arrested another SFO 1 in the Ilocos Region who had recently been dismissed, but he did not provide further details.
The alleged scheme offered slots in the bureau ranging from P100,000 to P800,000, according to Remulla.
He said before his appointment to the DILG, BFP personnel involved in this scheme made at least P15 billion a year, including kickbacks in the purchase of equipment and additional fees for inspections.
Remulla and Kwan Tiu also cited recent reforms in the BFP, particularly the adoption of an electronic hiring system in the recruitment of applicants for next year.
“As long as people are involved in the selection, that’s where corruption happens. Now, the lists are systems-generated,” Remulla said.
Kwan Tiu said he will explore options with the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to protect the identities of BFP applicants. The bureau, similar to the PNP, publishes its lists of applicants in a bid for transparency.
Earlier this year, Remulla launched an anticorruption drive in the BFP, starting with criminal and administrative cases against more than 40 personnel and the relief of over 900 fire safety inspectors in Metro Manila for alleged questionable practices.
The campaign included the suspension of then BFP chief Fire Director Jesus Fernandez, whom Remulla had accused of facilitating a kickback scheme on the procurement of fire trucks and ambulances.
Remulla had vowed to “clean the BFP and remove all its syndicates.”
“My goal is to strengthen the institution of the DILG. It used to be very weak. It used to be very porous,” he said. “I will not leave as [Secretary] until I clean this up.”
