BFP Western Visayas director relieved over Boracay party

DEPARTMENT of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año on Wednesday, June 17, 2020, ordered the relief of the Bureau of Fire Protection Western Visayas (BFP-6) director over a recent “despedida” party in Boracay.

Año said Fire Senior Superintendenr Roderick Aguto will temporarily be replaced by Fire Senior Superintendent Jerry Candido, the director for logistics of the BFP National Headquarters.

“We will never tolerate any wrongdoing by our BFP personnel or any other DILG personnel for that matter because lives are at stake here. Panahon ng pandemya ngayon at hindi puwede ang mga palusot. Moreover, as law enforcers, we must set a good example to our people and the breach of quarantine protocols sets a very bad example,” Año said.

The DILG secretary also ordered BFP Chief Jose Embang to create a special investigation task group that will immediately conduct an investigation into the party that 28 BFP personnel held in a hotel in Boracay on June 12 to 14.

One of the BFP personnel later tested positive for the novel coronavirus, or Sars-CoV-2, which causes the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

All BFP personnel and hotel staff who had close contact with the infected patient have already been placed under quarantine and had been swabbed.

As of Tuesday, 196 BFP-6 personnel have undergone a rapid antibody test.

Of the 196, 28 were subjected to RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) and were advised to undergo quarantine pending the release of the results on Friday, June 19.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the BFP personnel claimed that they were attending a conference.

Puyat said the hotel’s license to operate will be revoked because it did not have permission yet to resume operations.

The BFP-6 regional office, its provincial offices, and fire stations have been placed under lockdown while the personnel were advised to disinfect the facilities. (SunStar Philippines)