SCUTTLEBUTT

The newly installed Quezon City fire chief has reportedly come up with a “smart move” to give the firefighters a Christmas party.

Nosy Tarsee got a tip that the fire chief issued a verbal instruction to the department’s finance team not to release the P1,500 monthly allowance each fire inspector (FI) is entitled to this month, but to use the funds instead to finance this year’s Christmas celebration.

With more than 200 FIs in the department, this means the inspectors will be paying for the party. Several of them sought out Daily Tribune to expose what they described as a scheme devised by Quezon City Fire Marshal F/Supt. Rodrigo Reyes.

The inspectors said they were already struggling to appease clients applying for Fire Safety Inspection Certificates (FSIC), alleging that the fire chief had imposed an unofficial policy requiring “grease money” before he signed any FSIC. An FSIC is a requirement for establishments applying for new or renewed building permits.

They said the FSIC collections could fund the Christmas party, but the fire chief allegedly told them that money did not go into his pocket but was remitted to officials at the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) national headquarters, as well as to the senior Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) official who appointed him.

“Si Zaldy Co ba siya? Pumipitik pero walang napupunta sa kanya. Malaking kasinungalingan ‘yon (Is he Zaldy Co? He takes bribes but doesn’t get a cut. That’s a blatant lie),” one FI, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.

The inspectors said the FSIC “fees” ranged from P200 to as much as P300,000, especially this year with the surge in high-rise developments in the city.

The monthly allowance, on the other hand, is a modest support provided by Mayor Joy Belmonte to help the inspectors.

If more than 200 FIs fail to receive their monthly allowance from the mayor, the total amount redirected to the Fire Department’s Christmas party would be as much as P300,000 — enough, they said, for firefighters to enjoy a Merry Christmas, though at the expense of the inspectors.