My fault, Jonvic says of fire truck shortage

A total of 91 fires were recorded during the Holy Week period from 29 March to 5 April, as Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla acknowledged responsibility for delays in acquiring new fire trucks.

“I take responsibility for the lack of fire trucks. But I did that because corruption inside the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) has become too much. It has to stop. I had to take the responsibility,” Remulla said during a press conference at BFP headquarters in Quezon City after administering the oath of newly promoted officials.

Remulla said the delays in firetruck procurement worsened the BFP’s equipment shortage, limiting its capacity to respond to emergencies nationwide.

He attributed this partly to the government’s crackdown on irregularities within the BFP, which affected the procurement process.

Remulla earlier disclosed that the BFP faces a deficit of around 600 fire trucks, driven in part by overpriced contracts and alleged bid rigging in recent years, reducing the number of units that could have been procured.

“Because of corruption and overpricing, we could have already procured an additional 400 fire trucks,” Remulla said.

He stressed that while demand from local government units remains high, internal reforms must come first to ensure proper use of public funds.

As reforms continue, Remulla said the DILG is moving to rebuild the bureau’s operational capacity and address long-standing resource gaps.

“So now, hopefully by 2026, we can procure. I think we’re targeting 300 trucks this year and 300 trucks next year,” he said.

He emphasized that strengthening accountability in procurement is critical to restoring public trust and ensuring emergency responders are properly equipped.