BFP procurement of fire trucks aboveboard

07/15/2008

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said yesterday its acquisition of brand-new fire trucks for use in cities and municipalities that lack adequate fire-fighting equipment was aboveboard and within the authorized budget required under existing laws and regulations.

In a report to Secretary Ronaldo Puno of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), BFP director Chief Supt. Enrique Linsangan pointed out that its procurement price for brand-new fire trucks, regardless of water capacity, referred to fully functioning water pumpers that include fire fighting accessories and auxiliary equipment, supplies and repair and maintenance tools, and not just for bare reconditioned units.

Moreover, Linsangan explained in his report coursed through DILG Undersecretary for Public Safety Marius Corpus that the BFP’s fire-fighting acquisitions refer to brand-new units and took into account the payment of the appropriate taxes, which are often not required in the purchase of surplus or second-hand equipment.

“When the BFP procures a brand-new fire truck, the unit is always provided with basic or common accessories such as hoses and nozzles, basic suppression tools composed of spanners, bolt cutter, pike poles, axes and other devices, as well as repair and maintenance tools,” Linsangan said.

“The acquisitions of fire trucks and other fire-fighting equipment undergo a rigorous process of study, funding approval and procurement,” he added.

In 2007, the BFP established the cost of a brand-new fire truck with a capacity of 1,000 gallons at P8,688,800; a unit with a 500-gallon capacity at P7,098,888; and a truck with a 300-gallon capacity at P5,999,888.

Linsangan explained that reports quoting Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante claiming that a 1,000-gallon capacity fire truck costs only P1.3 million; a 500-gallon capacity truck, P900,000; and a 300-gallon capacity water pumper, P600,000 are misleading and erroneous.

He noted that such reports did not specify whether the units referred to by the congressmen were brand-new units or only refurbished ones, whether they could be brought locally or from abroad, and whether these referred to fully-fitted trucks or bare ones bereft of accessories necessary to make them fully usable and functional upon purchase or delivery.

The BFP chief pointed out that the Bureau strongly discourages the acquisition of imported equipment, whether brand-new or surplus units, which does not comply with customs duties.

Moreover, spare parts for imported, second-hand equipment are usually hard to find or are priced prohibitively, he said.

The BFP has 1,741 fire trucks of which only 74 perecnt are operational. The Bureau’s existing fleet is actually short of 1,926 units, considering that for an estimated population of 90 million Filipinos in 2008, it needs 3,214 units to bring down the fire truck-to-population ratio to 1:28,000.

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