What are they waiting for?

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor PATRICK PANGILINAN Busines Editor NIDA A. BUENAFE Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

The Commission on Audit has discovered that the Bureau of Fire Protection failed to spend almost P700 million in 2009 and 2010 to buy gear that would have improved safety and the capabilities of firefighters. In its 2010 report on the BFP, the COA said the bureau failed to use P170 million released in 2009 to buy self-contained breathing apparatus, as well as P522.913 million in cash allowances made available in 2010.

The COA report rightly said that the BFP needed to take advantage of available funds to improve its facilities and equipment to come up with a better firefighting force, instead of allowing technicalities or revisions to delay the procurement of equipment that could save lives.

The 2010 report on the BFP showed that the P170 million set aside for self-contained breathing apparatus was allowed to lapse without being used due to changes in the technical specifications followed by a lack of interest in the subsequent follow-ups, that could have led to the procurement of such lacking, yet critical firefighting equipment. The report also found that P522 million in notice of cash allocations for various activities were reverted back to the national treasury in 2010. The amount, had it been used, would have bought a lot of firefighting equipment and could have been used to repair fire trucks, considering that requests from regional offices for funds to repair trucks were not released.

The report hit the nail on the head when it said: “The frequent revision of funds to the National Treasury only showed that management is not aggressive enough in the conduct of the procurement process and in the implementation of its projects and programs”. This attitude, which could either be misplaced penny-pinching or outright laziness, cannot be excused, given the current state and capabilities of fire houses and firemen all over the country. This is a case where a government official’s decision not to spend government money could be as terrible as choosing to pocket that money for personal gain.*