Bill seeks to upgrade the salary grade levels and increase hazard pay of BFP fire officers
Bill seeks to upgrade the salary grade levels and increase hazard pay of BFP fire officers
They
go above and beyond the call of duty to rescue distressed individuals from burning
buildings and wreckages. They protect our properties and halt further damage
thereto as may be caused by disastrous fires. In one way or another, our BFP
fire officers place their own lives at risk to protect the public at large. The
firefighters are real-heroes.
According
to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), the primary agency responsible for fire
prevention and firefighting, the country has recorded a total of 77, 724 fire
incidents, or an average of 15,545 fire incidents every year or 42 fire
incidents a day from 2013 to 2017.
During
this period, the total estimated damage to property reached ₱23.273 billion or
an average of ₱4.65 billion every year. Worse, 1257 people were killed, or an
average of 251 deaths every year, and the number of injured persons reached
4,239, or an average of 848 persons, suffering from fire-related injuries.
House
bill No. 7246 or “Fire
Officers Salary Upgrade Act of 2020”, authored by Quezon City 3rd
District Representative Allan Benedict S. Reyes, seeks to upgrade the salary grade
levels with increase hazard pay of all fire officers of the BFP.
He
noted that “despite these circumstances,
Filipino firefighters are still “among the bravest in battling blazes.” They
are known to charge toward burning structures while others scamper for safety.
Unfortunately, our Filipino firefighters themselves are seriously injured, or
even killed, while performing their dangerous jobs.”
The
said bill included the increase of fire officer’s hazard pay from ₱540 to ₱1,080 per month.
Today,
with the current pandemic, firefighters are also in the frontline together with
our healthcare workers. As one of the first responders, firefighters continue
to put themselves at great peril to heed the call of their duty.
The
legislation seeks to modify the salary grade levels of all firefighters of the
BFP in recognition of the important role they play in Philippine society. While
it is believed that monetary considerations are not what motivates them to perform
their duties, it is hoped that by making their jobs more economically
rewarding, these real-life heroes will be able to live better and more
financially secure lives.
Rep.
Reyes hoped that this salary reallocation will address the current manpower
shortage of the BFP by attracting more competent individuals to join, and the
existing ones to remain loyal to, the said agency.
Source:
http://www.congress.gov.ph/legisdocs/basic_18/HB07246