BFP officer-in-charge, F/Chief Supt. Rolando Bandilla, appealed to both Houses of Congress to waive the upgraded minimum qualification standards in the appointment of personnel in both the fire and jail bureaus.
Bandilla said that with the pending implementation of the Attrition Law, an estimated 8,000 BFP personnel face early separation from the service.
He explained that Republic Act 9263, otherwise known as the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Professionalization Act of 2004, upgraded the minimum qualification standards in the appointment of personnel in both agencies.
Under the law, the minimum educational qualification was set from two years to baccalaureate degree, while the minimum civil service eligibility qualification was set from first level to second or third level.
Those personnel who were already in the service prior to the enactment of the law were given five years to comply with the requirements, otherwise, they will face separation or attrition from the service.
Bandilla said he is exerting efforts to remedy the situation.
He also said that the Bureau has proposed to waive such requirements to those who entered the service prior to RA 9263.
Bandilla said with the Philippine population reaching roughly 92 million, the BFP needs additional 45,000 personnel to meet the ideal 1:28,000 fire fighter-to-population ratio.
At present, the current strength of the bureau is approximately 16,000.
"The implementation of the Attrition Law would, in effect, misplace existing BFP personnel who do not meet the education and eligibility qualification requirements stipulated in RA 9263, thereby depleting the bureau’s human resource especially fire stations that are, in fact, already in dire need of additional fire fighting personnel," Bandilla said.
But he said that there is still hope after three lawmakers expressed their support for the cause of the BFP personnel.
These lawmakers are House Speaker Prospero Nograles, Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio of the 1st District, South Cotabato; and Sen. Gregorio Honasan, chairman, Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs.
"Incidentally, two of them were instrumental in the passage of Republic Act 9514, also known as the Fire Code of 2008," Bandilla said.
He said that the three legislators had generously expressed their support to the proposal of the bureau so much so that Custodio sponsored House Bill No. 5769 that will amend RA 9263.
"The BFP is anticipating that with the intervention of our policymakers, those personnel who are candidates for attrition would be recognized for their years of invaluable services to the bureau," Bandilla concluded.
DPWH needs 495,000 workers
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is expected to hire nearly half a million workers for the government’s multi-million peso infrastructure projects nationwide.
DPWH Undersecretary Ramon Aquino said some 495,000 workers are needed for the stimulus plan of the government this year.
Aquino said that the workers will be hired mostly by the local governments where the projects will be instituted.
Fifty percent will be hired as skilled workers, 30 percent as unskilled while the remaining 20 percent will be hired by the contractors or operators.
"They will work on roads, bridges and flood control projects and SONA projects," the DPWH official said.
The DPWH will build roads, bridges, flood control systems and the so- called super region projects in Mindanao. The total cost of the projects is R60 billion.
Aquino said road rehabilitation is the biggest component of the project that includes road construction and upgrade.
The DPWH official said that if the bidding process is done this month, the infrastructure projects can start immediately.
Source : MB
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