EDITORIAL - Corruption in the BFP

These days it seems that if you peek into any part of government, you will find corruption.

The latest agency to be hit by accusations of large-scale corruption is the Bureau of Fire Protection. And the accusation is coming from the head himself of the BFP’s supervising agency, the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla said that by his estimate, crooks in the BFP have made about P15 billion in kickbacks annually for the past 20 years, through rigged bidding for items such as fire trucks and overpricing of supplies.

Even a deal for the sale of fire extinguishers amounting to P30 million was found to be tainted with graft, Remulla said, with the items priced at twice the usual cost. He said the BFP inspector who recommended the fire extinguishers to a building developer was apparently related to the supplier. Remulla administratively relieved BFP officials in the National Capital Region and Quezon City in connection with the anomalous deal.

He said the DILG is readying complaints against an initial batch of 20 senior BFP officials led by Director Jesus Fernandez for various offenses related to supply procurement. Remulla claimed that through emissaries, Fernandez had offered him a kickback of P1.5 million for a fire truck.

Businessmen including micro and small entrepreneurs have in fact complained for a long time about questionable activities involving BFP inspectors. The most common complaint is being forced by BFP inspectors to buy fire extinguishers from a particular supplier before fire safety clearance certificate is granted to an enterprise.

At one point, BFP inspectors were prohibited from recommending any supplier to those needing fire safety certification for a business permit. But the practice continued.

Many entrepreneurs give in to BFP shakedowns and other abuses to avoid hassle, and because of the uncertainty of seeing their complaints acted upon. If nothing comes out of filing a complaint, the victim also fears the possibility of retaliation and harassment.

Such fears have allowed corruption to persist in the BFP as well as in many other government agencies. If authorities want public cooperation in reporting cases of graft and corruption, complainants must believe there is reasonable certainty that the complaints will be acted upon and the crooks punished.

Preferably, the offenders are kicked out of government permanently, fined and even tossed behind bars, with all separation and retirement benefits forfeited. Until people see crooks getting punished, there will be no deterrent to corruption.