THE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is investigating more than 200 officials of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) over an alleged “slot-for-sale” scheme in the bureau’s recruitment process, Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said on Friday.
Speaking at a press conference at Camp Crame, Remulla said the investigation covers officials at various levels of the BFP, including all regional directors.
Last Aug. 24, a female BFP Senior Fire Officer 1 in Pampanga was arrested after a BFP applicant alleged that she demanded P300,000 in exchange for a position in the bureau.
Remulla commended the applicant for reporting the alleged extortion. The official has been placed under the custody of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and is facing charges.
The BFP Region 4A assistant regional director was also implicated in the Pampanga case and has been relieved from post while the investigation continues, Remulla said.
Earlier this year, Remulla said cases had been filed against 11 BFP officials over the same “slot-for-sale” scheme.
Remulla said he wants to stop the corruption in the BFP within six months. He said the P15-billion racket has been around for 25 years.Since he took charge of the DILG, Remulla has exposed what he described as a deeply entrenched, “cancerous” system of organized corruption inside the BFP.
“The BFP has become a criminal syndicate instead of a law enforcement and a first responder syndicate,” Remulla said.
“My number 1 goal is to clean and strengthen the DILG institution, including the PNP, BFP and BJMP (Bureau of Jail Management and Penology),” Remulla said.
“Binabalaan ko na ang lahat ng opisyal ng BFP lumabas na kayo ngayon at umamin kayo or hahabulin namin kayo hanggang matapos ang career niyo. Ang inimbestigahan namin ngayon ay lumagpas ng 200 tao na tungkol sa slots for sale (I am warning all BFP officials: come forward now and confess, or we will pursue you until the end of your careers. We are currently investigating more than 200 people regarding slots for sale),” Remulla warned.
Around 23,000 applicants competed for 2,504 vacancies under this year’s BFP recruitment quota, he said.
Applicants pay between P100,000 and P800,000 to the syndicate to guarantee employment in the bureau.
BFP officer in charge Fire Chief Supt. Wilberto Rico Neil Ang Kwan Tiu said the bureau has begun implementing an online e-hiring system in which applicants are identified only through numbers or codes during the recruitment process.
The names of applicants who qualify for the annual BFP quota are generated by the system and revealed only at the end of the process, Kwan Tiu said.
“We are trying our best to institute the reforms of the secretary in the BFP. With the new system we have, we are confident that the slot-for-sale scheme will be eliminated,” he said.
