BFP folks went to Antique before Boracay bash

By Emme Rose Santiagudo

Before the incident in Boracay happened, the controversial personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Region 6 went to a resort in Antique province for another alleged gathering before holding a despedida or farewell party in Boracay Island over the weekend amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

This was revealed by Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas who received information that employees from the Iloilo City Zoning Office also went to the same resort visited by the BFP-6 group.

“There was a report to me that before the BFP regional director and his group went to Boracay, they went to a resort in Antique with (Iloilo) City Hall employees from the Zoning Office who are regular and casuals. Pictures were sent to me thru email last night,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

The fire bureau has been under fire for alleged violation and breach of quarantine protocols after one of its officers tested positive for COVID-19.

The 24-year-old female BFP officer also allegedly declared inaccurate travel history and attended a “despedida” or farewell party in Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan that was organized by the BFP.

She attended the party while waiting for the confirmatory result of her COVID-19 test instead of undergoing quarantine, according to local authorities.

The controversy led to the relief of Fire Senior Superintendent Roderick Aguto as BFP-6 regional director and 28 other personnel from their posts.

Meanwhile, Treñas ordered the City Legal Office (CLO) and City Zoning Administrator Atty. Ruben M. Torres to investigate if City Hall employees indeed joined the BFP’s Antique trip.

Based on their preliminary investigation, Torres said personnel from the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) and Office of the City Zoning Administrator (OCZA) went to Anini-y, Antique upon invitation of a certain Miriam Penoscas on June 13-14.

The group of BFP personnel also visited the same location also upon invitation of Penoscas but they went there on June 6 and June 7.

“According to the sources, the personnel of CPDO/OCZA namely Gerry Villarina, Joseff Salazar, Patrick Trespeces, Othelo Garbanzos and Antonio Montero went on a trip to Anini-y Antique upon the invitation of a certain Miriam Penoscas,” Torres said.

But the City Zoning Administrator concluded that personnel from the CPDO/OCZA had no exposure to the BFP employees including the COVID-19 positive BFP officer.

Moreover, Torres said the BFP officer did not join the Anini-y trip.

“The BFP personnel who tested positive for COVID-19 was reported to have breached her quarantined and reportedly travelled to Boracay on June 12 directly from Iloilo and did not drop by Anini-y in Antique. Contact therefore with the CPDO/OCZA personnel reportedly did not happen,” he said.

Based on the photos received by the Iloilo City government, the group of BFP personeel stayed in a resort in Anini-y, Antique where they went fishing and drank alcoholic beverages.

Despite the lack of exposure to the BFP personnel, all the personnel from the CPDO and OCZA have been subjected for Covid-19 testing. Their workstations will also be disinfected.

The city government also imposed a three-day extreme enhanced community quarantine (EECQ) on the BFP regional and city offices from June 15 to June 18.