Deputy Speaker and Cebu 5th District Rep. Vincent Franco “Duke” Frasco on Tuesday pushed for the acquisition of firefighting choppers amid a sudden surge of fire incidents.

Frasco has filed House Resolution (HR) 1686 urging the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to include in their proposed 2025 budget the purchase of firefighting helicopters.

Fire cases increased by 25 percent this year in the first two months alone.

He said a highly effective approach such as aerial firefighting is badly needed for faster and more efficient fire suppression operations.

“For the past years, fire incidents have become a big problem in the Philippines. Among the most common challenges encountered while responding to such fires especially in densely populated and residential areas are the delayed arrival of firefighters due to severe traffic congestion and their difficulty in accessing the fire-affected and congested sites due to minimal and low upgrade firefighting gears, equipment, and vehicles,” Frasco said in a statement.

Under HR 1686, Frasco emphasized the importance of capacitating the BFP and to ensure its responsiveness by upgrading the level of its fire protection services through measures including acquisition of new and modern equipment and vehicles such as firefighting helicopters.

He said HR 1686 is also in line with the BFP Modernization Program by virtue of Republic Act No. 11589, which gears towards the enhancement of the capability of its personnel and acquisition of the state-of-the-art fire prevention, fire suppression, fire investigation, and emergency medical and rescue services facilities and equipment.

With his resolution, the Deputy Speaker is hoping to further enhance and modernize the BFP in fulfilling its mandate of ensuring public safety through the prevention and suppression of all kinds of fires, with the active support of the community. (PNA)