Eleven Iloilo towns cannot send a single working firetruck

By Mariela Angella Oladive

Only 40 of the 77 firetrucks owned by 42 municipal governments in Iloilo province are operational, according to the latest inventory of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP)-Iloilo Chapter.

The March 18 inventory classified 15 firetrucks as dilapidated and 22 as needing repairs, putting 37 units out of service.

Eleven municipalities have no operational firetruck at all.

These are Tubungan in the 1st District; Leon in the 2nd District; Badiangan, Bingawan, and Cabatuan in the 3rd District; Anilao in the 4th District; and Barotac Viejo, Batad, Carles, Lemery, and San Dionisio in the 5th District.

Tubungan’s lone firetruck is undergoing repairs, while Leon’s only unit has been declared dilapidated.

The 3rd District has the most municipalities without a functioning firetruck.

Badiangan’s two firetrucks are both undergoing repairs, while Bingawan’s two units and Cabatuan’s lone truck have been classified as dilapidated.

In the 4th District, Anilao’s only firetruck remains under repair.

In the 5th District, Barotac Viejo’s two firetrucks and the lone units of Batad, Carles, Lemery, and San Dionisio are either awaiting repairs or have been declared unserviceable.

Many municipalities operate with only one functional firetruck, leaving them exposed to mechanical breakdowns or to simultaneous fire incidents.

Barotac Nuevo has the largest fleet with five firetrucks, three of them operational and two needing repairs.

Leganes and Dumangas each have four firetrucks, but only two units in each municipality are serviceable.

By district, the 2nd District has the largest municipal fleet with 17 firetrucks, followed by the 3rd, 4th, and 5th districts with 16 units each.

The 1st District has the fewest with 12.

Badiangan Mayor Suzette Mamon, who heads the LMP-Iloilo Chapter, said the organization has endorsed the inventory to Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr.

Defensor forwarded the document to the national government to seek funding for municipalities that need to replace or rehabilitate their firefighting equipment.

Mamon said some firetrucks listed as “for repair” remain operational but have become increasingly expensive to maintain because of their age and deteriorating condition.

The inventory was conducted to determine the actual condition of municipal firetrucks and to identify local government units needing immediate assistance, she said.

Mamon added that the inventory is continuously updated because some units may have been repaired while others may have deteriorated further.

She said many municipalities cannot afford to buy new firetrucks using local funds alone, prompting the LMP to seek help from the national government, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

The BFP, an agency under the DILG, is the primary national body responsible for fire prevention and suppression.

Municipal governments maintain their own firetrucks to augment BFP response, particularly in areas where the bureau’s equipment and personnel are thinly spread.

Iloilo province has 42 municipalities and one component city, Passi. The LMP covers municipal governments, so Passi City is outside the scope of the inventory.