Two uniformed chiefs replaced over blunders

Quezon City hugged the headlines past mid-year of 2023 when the city police and its fire chiefs were replaced over their lapses.

The snappy Quezon City Police District chief P/Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III resigned from his post on 27 August, following criticism for a press conference he conducted with a gun-toting dismissed policeman Wilfredo Gonzales who was involved in a road rage incident.

Torre was criticized for allowing Gonzales to speak at a press conference at Camp Karingal. In the said viral video, Gonzales was caught assaulting a cyclist and threatening the biker by drawing his firearm.

Torre, who institutionalized the 3-minute response time of QCPD to any eventuality resigned for "delicadeza."

On the other hand, the city fire marshal Aristotle Bañaga and his inspection chief Chief Inspector Dominic Salvacion were relieved over their lousy blunders in inspecting establishments to prevent fire incidents from happening and lapses committed in the wake of several fire incidents this year in their jurisdiction.

Included in these deadly fires was the August 31 in Tandang Sora, wherein 15 lives were lost. It triggered a City Council investigation that found serious lapses in inspection processes led to insufficient site inspection for the FSIC (Fire Safety Inspection Certificate) application of business, and no inspection at all for the same purpose in 2022 and 2023.

"These, despite knowledge per records that the business transferred from the original site in Manresa, this City, into a residential area in Pleasant View Subdivision in Tandang Sora, with a declaration of 15 square meters 'office only' contractor of clothes, garments, and bags as its business area and nature of business. At the very least the QCFD (Quezon City Fire Department) should have been more circumspect in inspecting the business area and the rest of the premises for signs of unauthorized business activities. Instead, just a cursory look was undertaken in 2021 and no inspection at all in 2022 and 2023," Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte's letter to Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. read as she recommended the relief of two erring fire officials.

The severity of this year's incidents, according to the Mayor, necessitates a call for a change in leadership of the QCFD.

She also cited that their evaluation conducted on fire incidents that occurred this year showed an average of more damage, injury, and deaths compared to previous years.

Earlier, fire incident protocols were also broken in the aftermath of a blaze in Tandang Sora that claimed the life of retired General George Ancheta, the uncle of QC Council Majority Floor Leader Dorothy Delarmente.

Another blaze, a five-alarm fire in Culiat injured seven people and destroyed about 200 homes.

On top of this, Bañaga and Salvacion left over 34,000 backlogs of uninspected business establishments. It was learned that Salvacion still got a juicy inspection post in Manila after their relief while Bañaga was assigned at the Bureau of Fire Protection national office.

Good replacement

The Philippine National Police immediately assigned a new commander at QCPD after the courtesy resignation of Torre III.

Police Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan, erstwhile chief of the PNP Public Information Office, was designated as the QCPD acting director. He continued Torre's 3-minute response time and vowed to keep the city more safer for QCitizens.

The new fire marshal F/Sr.Supt. Flor-Ian Guerrero took over as the new QC Fire Marshal who immediately worked on inspecting the over 34,000 establishments that his predecessors left behind.

Guerrero immediately coordinated with QC Business Permit and Licensing Division Chief Margarita Roa-Santos to iron out the deficiencies in inspections to make sure all the businesses in the city are compliant with the Fire Safety Code.

Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos on Monday directed the Bureau of Fire Protection to "investigate thoroughly" Quezon City Fire Marshal Aristotle Bañaga and his inspection chief, Chief Inspector Dominic Salvacion.