Capitol to distribute motorcycles for firefighting in mountain barangays

Governor Gwen Garcia yesterday announced Capitol's plan to distribute motorcycles, equipped with firefighting devices, to selected mountain barangays in the towns of Cebu by February in time of the fire prevention month observance.

Garcia said Vice Governor Greg Sanchez showed to her the prototype of the motorcycle, which has fire extinguishers, siren and public address system, and it convinced her of its usage in mountain barangays.

This kind of vehicle is the answer to the problems of firefighting in upland barangays in Cebu towns where firefighting trucks could hardly negotiate the pathways to reach the affected area, said the governor.

Garcia said Sanchez introduced this matter to her last year, so now the next step would be to discuss and identify which barangays would be the initial beneficiaries of the project.

Sanchez reportedly agreed to her proposal to set up a system for project implementation, and the formulation of a memorandum of agreement between the town mayor, chief of the recipient barangay, and the provincial government.

The MOA should stipulate terms and conditions over the obligation of each party-signatory, including the driver, fuel allocation and refilling of the fire extinguisher, to ensure an efficient and effective implementation of the project. - Cristina C. Birondo