(Concept art from Duke Frasco's Facebook)

House Deputy Speaker Cebu 5th district Rep. Vincent Franco “Duke” Frasco wants the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to start using helicopters in their firefighting operations. 

To explore this possibility and to discuss concerns on recent fire incidents, Frasco filed House Resolution (HR) No.1686, titled, "Resolution urging the [BFP] and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to include in their FY2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP) the purchase of firefighting helicopters". 

According to Frasco, a highly effective approach such as aerial firefighting is badly needed for faster and more efficient fire suppression operations. 

Noting that the BFP has yet to be capacitated and equipped with the necessary resources for aerial firefighting, Frasco pushed for the acquisition of the bureau’s own firefighting helicopters in order to integrate this method in their operations without the need to depend on the availability of other entities such as the Philippine Air Force. 

This is also in line with the BFP Modernization Program by virtue of Republic Act (RA) No. 11589, which is gears toward the enhancement of the capability of its personnel and acquisition of the state-of-the-art fire prevention, fire supression, fire investigation, and emergency medical and rescue services facilities and equipment. 

The resolution noted that as of March 1, 2024, the country has seen a 25 percent increase in the number of fire incidents in the first two months of the year. Most of these occurred in residential areas. 

The Deputy Speaker hopes to further the efforts of the government in the enhancement and modernization of the BFP in order to fulfill its mandate of ensuring public safety through the prevention and suppression of all kinds of fires, with the active support of the community. 

 The 2025 NEP--the precursor to the proposed General Appropriations Bill (GAB)--is expected to be submitted to the House by the executive branch around August this year.