PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte signed on Friday the provision for the modernization of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), which includes allowing over 2,000 firefighters in the country to carry guns while on duty.
The President believed that signing the bill into law proves the “strong cooperation between Congress and this administration” to establish effective response for the welfare of communities as it will help uplift the agency’s morale and realize their responsibility.
Duterte recognized that the passage of the bill remains a dispute in Congress but insisted that authorizing firemen to carry guns in the exercise of their calling would ensure their own safety against potential threats caused by persistent victims or disgruntled residents who want to be first on the line of firemen’s response.
“In the mind of some, bakit mo bigyan ng baril ang mga bumbero, sunog lang ang kalaban niyan? You know, the organization itself and the individual bumbero, they are exposed in a field fraught of so many dangers,” the country’s chief said in defense.
“Ganito kasi ‘yan, for those of you na kagaya kong dumaan sa local government, alam ninyo ‘yan. Kapag may sunog, lahat ng tao gustong unahin iyong lugar nila, at kung hindi, magalit. Either they threaten the bumberos who are helpless because while fighting the fire, they also have to address the challenges dito sa [mga] nagagalit. There are so many challenges in the work of a bumbero na kailangan mong protektahan,” he added.
Duterte further stressed that the culture in the present society shows that to threaten is the only way to make people follow policies or regular laws.
“Sad to say it, but ang symbol dito is baril. Kung hindi ka makakita ng baril, hindi ka susunod,” he expressed.
Under the BFP Modernization Act sponsored by Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, the bureau will have to undergo a 10-year modernization period in order to improve and transform into a modern and world-class institution.
According to Dela Rosa, of the 32,800 employed BFP firemen in 17 fire regional offices and 146 city fire stations, only 2,282 or 7.9 percent of them will be armed.
Prior to the ratification of the bill, solons earlier nudged the government to scrap the newly-enacted law—saying emergency services personnel, including firefighters, must not be licensed to carry firearms as it is beyond their profession and will only steal policemen’s role to serve the public amid a chaotic blaze.
“It was the collective judgment of the Senate that it should not be allowed…It is very dangerous if we allow our Senate contingent to go against the policy adopted by the Senate,” Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said in a hearing.
“I maintain my strong objection to firefighters bearing arms — this is on record both in the bl-cam proceedings and in plenary — but as a member of the bi-cam panel for the minority, I express support for the other parts of the bill,” Senator Risa Hontiveros also once wrote in a tweet.