THE Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Lapu-Lapu City has given the City Government 15 days to comply with fire safety requirements after an inspection revealed deficiencies in fire safety devices at the main City Hall.
Lapu-Lapu City District Fire Marshal FSupt. Arnel Abella said in an interview on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, that the latest inspection of City Hall was prompted by a Commission on Audit (COA) report, as published by SunStar Cebu, which stipulated unresolved discrepancies dating back to the 2024 audit.
The fire safety inspection initiated by the BFP on Monday, Dec. 15, uncovered deficiencies, including the absence of a fire alarm, emergency lights and minimal exit signs which are essential to the building’s safety.
“We saw that there are proper exits, but we also found deficiencies in the fire alarms and emergency lights. What’s important is that there are secondary exits,” said Abella in Cebuano. “There is willingness (from the City Government) to comply with the minimum requirements.”
The fire marshal stressed that the City Government must comply with the requirements to install manual fire alarms and emergency lights, including addressing the insufficient number of
fire extinguishers.
Failure to do so in the given specified timeline will result in the issuance of a notice of violation.
Mayor Ma. Cynthia King-Chan told reporters in a Dec. 10 interview that she will coordinate with Abella to ensure the City Government is fully compliant. She added that she had already installed fire extinguishers upon assuming office after noticing their absence.
City Administrator Danilo Almendras, in a separate interview, confirmed that he was informed of the inspection. He added that he did not received the results of the recent inspection report as of Monday morning.
Almendras also said that the City Government had responded to the 2024 COA report during the exit conference held after the audit and filed their comment.
Findings
When asked, Abella confirmed that Monday’s inspection revealed the same findings as the one in March, indicating that no improvements have been made in addressing the discrepancies flagged by COA over the past several months.
He explained that a fire safety inspection had been conducted in March, two months prior to his assumption of the post of fire marshal in July.
While the City Government can meet the BFP’s requirements, Almendras acknowledged that the installation of sprinkler systems, flagged in the first inspection, has not yet been complied with. He cited the high cost, ranging from P700,000 to P1 million, as a key challenge.
Abella said that based on their findings, the building is acceptable without a sprinkler system since it is only two stories high.
He also explained that the City Government plans to develop and build a new City Hall building, making it impractical to install full fire safety measures in the current infrastructure.
Fire inspectors also inspected other offices, including the General Service Office and the Department of the Interior and Local Government Office. / DPC