Corruption threatens to raze fire bureau

(First of two parts)

The allegedly anomalous bidding for fire trucks is not the only controversy apparently waiting to explode at the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

It seems that almost all aspects of the bureau's operations - from fighting fires to office work - has some form of irregularity.

And people within the BFP warn that unless this corruption is immediately stopped, it might turn into a conflagration that could raze the entire organization.

Records obtained by The STAR revealed that corruption has crept into the purchase of fire hoses, nozzles, office supplies, and the repair of broken trucks by the BFP.

For fire hoses and nozzles, the bureau's pre-qualification and bids negotiation and awards committee has allegedly awarded a negotiated contract to a favored dealer despite its earlier decision to declare a failure of bidding.

Oscar Cura said his company - Ross P. Trading - lost in the bidding in spite of the fact that the price it offered for the hoses and nozzles was 30 percent lower than the bid of the winner.

Eleuterio Iturriaga, chairman of the bureau's bids and awards committee, has denied any irregularity in the bidding.

In his explanation to Interior and Local Government Secretary Alfredo Lim, Iturriaga said the bidding was declared a failure because only one bidder passed the pre-qualification requirement.

He noted that Cura's firm did not pass the "elongation test" done on the sample of fire hoses which it submitted.

Lim, nonetheless, has ordered an investigation into the issue.

Meanwhile, corruption also has reportedly tainted the purchase of office supplies by the BFP.

Sources within the bureau said that in 1999 alone, the BFP allocated some P30 million for office supplies such as bond paper, paper clips, envelopes and other materials. The purchases, they said, were done on a quarterly basis, meaning P7.5 million was allocated for supplies to be used for three months.

However, the same sources noted that P7.5 million was enough to cover the bureau's office supplies needs for the entire year. The P22.5 million remaining allocation, they explained, was used in "ghost purchases" for the three remaining quarters.

And the corruption in the bureau reportedly stretches down to the repair of fire trucks.

For still unknown reasons, the repair of the bureau's hundreds of fire trucks had been ordered centralized by the BFP leadership. This decision has allegedly doubled or even tripled the cost of repairs since trucks from far-flung provinces now have to be sent or shipped to Manila to be repaired.

Sources said the BFP has contracted two shops to exclusively repair its fire trucks. These shops, they say, are in Laguna and in Valenzuela City and both are reportedly owned by a business associate of BFP chief Col. Raymundo Padua.

The sources claimed that some BFP officials have opted to pad the budget for the repair of broken fire trucks by several thousands or even hundreds of thousands of pesos.

In one instance, a fire truck from the Malacañang fire station, suffering from brake and transmission trouble, was brought to these shops. The repair, which was supposed to cost only a few thousand pesos, ran to about P485,000.

The sources added that for the repair of 20 old fire trucks in Metro Manila alone, the BFP allocates P10 million each year. They noted that only a small portion of this amount is actually being spent on repairs, while the rest goes into the pockets of some bureau officials.

And who suffers from all these?

It is not hard to see the sorry situation thousands of Filipino firemen are in today.

Records reveal that the country's 13,406 firefighters have to share 5,418 fire coats, 4,973 pairs of boots, and 6,281 helmets.

And to think that these men live each day knowing it might be their last.

"The fire scene is like a war zone," said FO3 Jesus Talusan of the San Lorenzo fire station. "Injury and death are common to us and there is no assurance that we will return safely to our families."

Talusan knows whereof he speaks. He almost died while fighting a fire that gutted several houses in Tondo last December. He collapsed in the middle of the blaze for lack of breathing apparatus.

"Wala akong magawa. Kailangan kong salubungin ang apoy kahit wala akong gadget (I had no choice. I had to face the fire even without any gadgets)," he said.

Breathing apparatus used to be a common sight in every fire station in the 1980s. These apparatus, which make breathing possible amid heavy smoke, is supposed to be standard equipment for firefighters, but Filipino firemen have learned to live without them.

The bureau, at present, reportedly has only 184 breathing apparatus, but just a few are functioning.

The STAR learned that the country's firemen also lack other standard gear. Their boots, for one, were last changed in 1995 and the ones they now use are locally made and no longer heat-proof. Their helmets, too, were bought by the bureau 10 years ago.

One fireman admitted that he has stopped wearing boots altogether in fighting fires. "Sumasakit ang paa ko pag ginagamit ko (My feet hurt when I use those boots)," he lamented.

(To be concluded)