Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo M. Año promoted sixty-five (65) Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) officials to the rank of Fire/Senior Superintendent which is equivalent to full Colonel rank.
In Department Order 2022-065 dated February 7, 2022, Año approved the appointment of the 65 senior fire officers to the next higher rank of Fire Senior Superintendent upon the endorsement of the BFP Chief through the recommendation of the BFP Senior Officers Executive Promotion Board.
The newly-promoted officers took their oath before DILG Undersecretary for Public Safety Nestor F. Quinsay, Jr. and BFP Director Louie S. Puracan at the DILG-NAPOLCOM Bldg. in Quezon City last week.
In his speech read by Usec. Quinsay, Secretary Año said that the promotion comes with greater responsibility and serves as a stepping stone for “higher altitude of public service.”
“I and the rest of the Filipino people are expecting that this achievement will translate into bigger milestones not only for your personal glory but more importantly for the betterment of the entire Fire Bureau,” he said.
“This ceremony is a living proof that government recognizes each employee’s dedication to the call of duty and inspires others to be responsible and excellent in the delivery of services to the people,” he added.
He called on the newly-promoted officers to continue to be model public servants who are willing to make daily sacrifices in serving the public, especially in this time of crisis.
“Kaya naman ako ay umaasa na lalo pa ninyong mapapasigla ang inyong dedikasyon at kagustuhang manilbihan sa bayan at nang sa gayon ay pamarisan kayo ng inyong mga kasamahan sa serbisyo,” he said.
According to the DILG Secretary, fire officers nowadays are not just relied upon to prevent and suppress fires but also to assist in emergency medical services, search, rescue and retrieval operations during disasters, and even manning evacuation sites and vaccination centers.
“Hindi na lang pamatay-sunog ang mga bumbero ngayon dahil inaasahan na rin sila ng mga mamamayan sa iba’t ibang larangan ng serbisyo-publiko. Kaya umaasa kami na lalo pang magiging masipag ang ating mga newly-promoted fire officers sa paglilingkod sa ating bayan,” said Año.
For his part, Fire Chief Puracan expressed his gratitude to the DILG Secretary for the approval of the promotion of the 65 senior officials and Usec Quinsay for his efforts in pushing the BFP modification of ranks.
“Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for seeing the merit in what we do and allowing our people to climb up in the career ladder to perform even more challenging tasks,” he said.
According to Puracan, the promotion is a result of the rank modification of BFP which was patterned after the Philippine National Police and approved by the Civil Service Commission and the Department of Budget and Management. Because of the rank modification, several plantilla positions in the BFP have been created for filling up, including Chief Superintendents.
Original Article at: https://dilg.gov.ph/news/DILG-promotes-65-fire-officials-to-Senior-Superintendent/NC-2022-1020