WITH the Cebu City Fire Department’s request for new fire trucks going unheeded, opposition leader Jonathan Guardo wants to know what happened to the P2 billion in cash that Cebu City officials said they have.

Police cars running out of fuel and the shortage in fire trucks only show that the City Government is mismanaged, Guardo and former senator John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña said yesterday.

"The Manny Pacquiao Blog". Click here for stories and updates on the Filipino boxing champ.

City Fire Marshall Esmael Codilla already submitted to the mayor’s office last Oct. 2 a request to have 14 non-serviceable fire trucks and firefighting equipment repaired and to upgrade their fleet of trucks.

The letter of request was received by the Office of the Mayor last Oct. 10. It includes the report on the status of 19 firefighting vehicles and equipment, most of which are old and dilapidated.

But Mayor Tomas Osmeña and City Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. said they have not received any request yet.

Pe said he has long requested for the purchase of new fire trucks but this was not prioritized because the trucks are expensive and need a large allocation.

Each super tanker is estimated to cost P18 million to P20 million while an engine fire truck costs P10 million to P12 million each.

Codilla said yesterday that ideally, the engine fire trucks of all nine fire substations in the city should be replaced and four new super tankers should be purchased.

But he said he understands that buying all the trucks they need would cost a lot of money so they will just request two super tankers and two engine fire trucks at this time. Other requests would also be made to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

“What happened to Lahug should serve as a wakeup call for everyone to pay attention to the problem. The City Fire Department can’t do it alone. We need the help of everyone,” Codilla said.

Yesterday afternoon, the engine fire truck of the substation in Barangay Labangon was finally repaired, but Codilla recalled the unit and assigned it to Lahug, after Vice Mayor Michael Rama instructed him to place the trucks in strategic areas in the city.

Question

Rama told reporters yesterday that he would go to the BFP office in Manila to ask why Cebu City has not been getting new fire trucks.

The City last received a fire truck from the BFP in 1994 yet.

“Are we being excluded? Is the city fire department not a part of the whole bureau? We are giving them P4 million a year in fire fees, but it’s not being returned to us in terms of equipment,” he said.

Guardo said he is not surprised that Osmeña is not aware of the problems in the fire department, because he is busy campaigning in the south district and tearing down the opposition’s basketball boards.

“In today’s news, the fire in Lahug was not contained immediately because as it turned out, we didn’t have enough fire trucks. Where’s the P2 billion?... And Mayor
Osmeña says he doesn’t know about these problems. Poor excuse.

Of course he won’t know because he’s so busy campaigning and removing basketballs boards. He’s a lousy manager and he needs to be fired,” he said.

Sonny said the issue on the police cars running out of fuel is a result of mismanagement. With the pre-audit requirements, he said City Hall should anticipate their needs and prepare for their purchases in advance to avoid delayed payments.

For their part, Osmeña and Rama reminded Guardo that the City Fire Department is under the Bureau of Fire Protection and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Desperate

Osmeña said that as far as he remembers, he approved all the requests of the City Fire Department.

“Atan is so desperate with his accusations. How would I know how many fire trucks are operating when I was not told? The fire department, which owns, maintains and operates the trucks, is under the BFP and DILG. I approve all requests from them,” the mayor said.

At City Hall yesterday, Rama asked Codilla to come up with plans on how the fire department will cope with the shortage in firefighting equipment.

He also asked the Chinese fire brigade volunteers to lend two of its trucks to the fire substations in Barangays Labangon and Mabolo, until their trucks are fixed.

Codilla was asked to present his plan during the Police Coordinating and Advisory Council this morning. (LCR)