MANILA, Philippines — The amount a newbie needs to pay some Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) under the so-called “slot for sale” scheme just to secure entry into the agency can go anywhere from P100,000 to as high as P800,000, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Friday.
In a press briefing at Camp Crame, Remulla, along with Philippine National Police (PNP) chief PGen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. and BFP chief Wilberto Rico Neil A. Kwan Tiu presented developments in the mission to eradicate the multi-layered, deeply entrenched, "cancerous" system of organized corruption inside the BFP.
In the so-called “slot for sale,” certain BFP personnel randomly choose from applicants who passed admissions. The slots, being limited, are being sold to "vulnerable" applicants for such an amount.
“Ang lowest na narinig namin ay P100,000, ang highest ay P800,000 para makapasok ng BFP,” Remulla told reporters.
In exchange, these applicants or personnel are guaranteed entry into the bureau, favorable assignments, or assured promotions
They also earn from sale of fire extinguishers and other assets where rather than conducting unbiased inspections, inspectors or agents sell specific brands of fire safety equipment (like fire extinguishers) directly to business owners first. Purchasing these items serves as a prerequisite for receiving a Fire Safety Inspection Certificate.
Remulla also exposed corruption on large-scale procurement irregularities where officials allegedly engage in kickbacks, rigged bidding processes, and irregular procurement contracts worth billions of pesos for major assets, including fire trucks and ambulances.
Now blossomed into a P15 billion industry, the alleged multi-layered corruption has been sprawling in the agency for over 25 years, Remulla said.
BFP cleaning in 6 months
Reemulla vowed to clean the agency of “rotten eggs” within six months or until his term ends.
“Within 6 months lilinisin namin lahat yan at I promise you before sa ginawa natin sa PNP tinanggal na natin lahat ng sindikato. Within BFP matatanggal ko rin lahat ng mga sindikatong ito,” he said.
(Within 6 months we will clean all of that up, and I promise you, just as we did with the PNP where we eliminated all the syndicates, I will also eliminate all of these syndicates within the BFP.)
“I will not leave as SILG until I clean this up. Ang No. 1 goal ko kasi dito is to strengthen the institution of the DILG. It used to be very weak, it used to be very porous,” he said.
Remulla said there was corruption in every corner of the Department of Interior and Local Government before he stepped in.
“Sa bawat kanto, sa bawat sulok ng DILG may corruption dati. Umpisahan mo sa pulis, umpisahan mo sa fire, umpisahan mo sa BJMP lahat yan pero nung pumasok ako I only had one mission in mind, clean and strengthen yun lang,” he said.
("In every corner, in every nook of the DILG, there was corruption before. Start with the police, start with the fire bureau, start with BJMP—all of them. But when I entered, I only had one mission in mind: clean and strengthen, that's all.)
