Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said over 200 Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) personnel, including all regional directors, are under investigation over their alleged involvement in a “slot-for-sale” recruitment scheme.
“Kung sa pinapanganak ka pa lang sa institusyon ay korapsyon na pinapasok mo, korapsyon ka na habambuhay. So, we’ll clean it up, mula sa baba hanggang sa taas. This will be a massive purge,“ Remulla said in a press briefing on Friday at Camp Crame.
“Ang iniimbestigahan namin ay lumagpas ng 200 katao na tungkol sa slot-for-sale,” he emphasized.
The DILG chief warned BFP personnel involved in the alleged scheme that they would be held accountable and face possible legal consequences.
“Binabalaan ko na ang lahat ng opisyal ng BFP: lumabas na kayo ngayon at umamin kayo o hahabulin namin kayo hanggang matapos ang career nito,“ he noted.
“I am warning you, I am serious and I will go after all of you hindi ako titigil hanggang makulong kayo lahat, matanggal sa serbisyo at kung ano mang kasama na maihahatol sa inyo ng batas ay hindi po ako titigil. We will clean this organization,” he added.
Remulla said a BFP deputy regional director has been relieved from his post amid the investigation.
The investigation followed the arrest of a BFP official in an entrapment operation conducted by operatives of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG), in coordination with the BFP, in Pampanga on Aug. 24.
The official allegedly offered a BFP recruitment slot to an applicant for P500,000.
According to the CIDG, the applicant encountered the suspect after seeing her name in a BFP Facebook post. The suspect later contacted the applicant through a dummy account and allegedly offered to secure a slot in exchange for P500,000.
When the applicant said she could not afford the amount, the suspect allegedly lowered the price to P300,000, prompting authorities to conduct the entrapment operation.
The CIDG said the suspect had allegedly carried out four previous transactions in which applicants paid P100,000 each in exchange for slots in the BFP.
Another BFP official, who was allegedly identified as the suspect’s accomplice, is also being investigated by the CIDG and the BFP.
Meanwhile, the BFP Deputy Regional Director for Administration in CALABARZON was relieved from his post after the arrested BFP personnel allegedly implicated him as an accomplice in the recruitment scheme.
Remulla said the alleged “slot-for-sale” practice was among the structures inside the BFP that he sought to dismantle when he assumed office at the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
“Ito po ay cancer sa loob ng BFP na matagal ng nangyayari. Ito po ay pinag-uusapan na for the last 25 years na may sistema na ganun,” Remulla said.
He also alleged that the BFP has a “P15-billion-a-year industry” involving various forms of corruption, including acceptance fees, promotions, fire extinguishers, sprinklers and other alleged illegal activities within the agency.
“The BFP has become a criminal syndicate instead of a law enforcement [agency],” Remulla said.
