MISPLACED PRIORITY

As President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Republic Act 11589 or the Bureau of Fire Protection
(BFP) Modernization Act that serves to ‘boost the morale, efficiency and responsiveness’ of the BFP,
arming them with guns bringing fear and worry to people is a dicey proposition.

According to Fire Code of the Philippines, BFP is tasked to help military in the occurrence of
national emergency upon the directive of the president aside from killing fires. To be able to do so, BFP
needs self-defense in maintaining peace and order especially when during fire as fire victims tend to
throw their frustration on fire personnel during operations.

Arming the 30,811 BFP personnel is both timely and relevant in battling against criminality,
terrorism, illegal drugs and violence as stated by Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)
Secretary Eduardo M. Ano. Having a superior capability brought by this Modernization Act is a potential
mitigation to ward off threats and destruction to the properties of the government.

As good as it may be, arming BFP imposes more harm than good.

In fact, BFP can be allowed to carry guns “if granted authority” by the DILG. However, under the
bureau’s operational procedures manual, BFP augmentation force cannot carry deadly weapons of any
kind in the concurrence of Crowd Dispersal Management operation.

Even if firefighters of the BFP will be assisted by Philippine National Police (PNP) alongside with
Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in training, arming them is still be lethal. As maximum
tolerance is gravely undermined, people cannot have the assurance that their safety, fear and worry will
be consumed by whether fire or the fire of a gun that silences a life in a milli-second stance.

What the measure indicates is not the law and public order. Duterte administration with its
menacing and unrelenting drive for a militaristic society where the default resolve is a tyrannical reach
for a gun is undeniable, intolerable.

Moreover, the provision will allow 2,282 firefighters to be armed. According to Senator Bato
Dela Rosa, each firearm unit will cost P35,000 or will have a total of over P79 million including body-
worn cameras to create Security and Protection unit in each regional and city fire station. Instead of
putting such fund for arming BFP, the budget can be used to improve their quality of service to the
public.

As BFP has just 3,046 out of the needed 3,947 firetrucks it could be more helpful if the
government prioritizes for better equipment, tools and reconfiguration of firehouses. BFP lacks
firetrucks and the impeded response due to incompetent tools and equipment risks lives and emergency
situation put people’s safety at stake.

The BFP Modernization Act improves the quality of the service and assistance provided the BFP
during fire emergency response. However, arming them with gun poses the horror of threat, death and
violence. If the possibilities remain outcasted by the government, then we will also remain astray of a
‘misplaced priority’ and blood will be buried to the ashes of a single blow of fire.