DILG gifts Celso with P9.7M firetruck
Mayor Celso Lobregat Thursday turns over to City Fire Marshall Col. James Ramirez the symbolic key to the P9.7 million fire truck (foreground) allocated by Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno in response to the city's many projects related to public safety. Assisting the mayor are members of the City Council and other officials. (JOEY BAUTISTA)
To reciprocate the city government’s unrelenting support and assistance to public safety, Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno allocated a fire truck worth P9.7 million to the City Fire District through Mayor Celso Lobregat.
Mayor Lobregat yesterday morning formally turned over the 1,000 gallon-fire truck to the City Fire District under Col. James Ramirez stressing it will surely help improve emergency response efforts.
At the same time, the mayor turned over to Col. Ramirez two-boxes load of imported fire suits and boots which were donations from the Sons and Daughters of Philippine Veterans Association members.
Also formally turned over yesterday through Mayor Lobregat was a refurbished fire truck donated by the Chiong family to the Barangay Council of Talisayan under the leadership of Josephine Pareja, a City Council aspirant under the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino.
“This is clearly a manifestation of the strong partnership between the DILG, the city government, the private sector and the barangay sector,” Mayor Lobregat announced during the turn over rite held in front of City Hall yesterday morning.
The DILG-acquired truck is a fulfilment of the promise made by Sec. Puno last June 23, 2009 when he came to Zamboanga to inaugurate the a 2-storey 4 cell building at the City Jail, the Sinunuc police sub-station and the renovated City Police Office and last November 14, 2009 when he came to unveil the rehabilitated City Fire Department building.
“Last year, when Sec. Puno came here, he acknowledged the assistance that the city government is giving not only to the police but also to the fire department and jail bureau,” the mayor said. “He promised that the DILG will reciprocate these gestures of cooperation and that one fire truck will be allocated for Zamboanga City and so now we are turning over the fire truck.”
“I am here to show my gratitude. I cannot let these contributions of the city government remain unnoticed. It is just proper for us in the DILG to show appreciation and overall congratulations and thanks for everything that Zamboanga has done,” Puno said during his June 23, 2009 visit here.
On the other hand, Mayor Lobregat thanked the DILG, the Bureau of Fire, the Chiong family, the Talisayan Barangay Council and also the Aboitiz Transport Corporation for the free cargo freight for the DILG-acquired fire truck’s transport from Manila to Zamboanga.
Lobregat said the free charge for the fire trucks cargo freight was also in response to the effective and efficient emergency response efforts of the city government and the City Disaster Coordinating Council at the height of the Superferry 9 tragedy last September 6, 2009.
Meanwhile, Pareja thanked the Chiong family for responding to her barangay council’s request for donation of a fire truck, which is intended to improve service to the public in times of conflagration in the barangay or the neighboring villages.
For his part, Col. Ramirez also expressed appreciation to Mayor Lobregat and the city government for the unrelenting support to the fire department.
The newest fire truck will augment the 20-fleet of fire vehicles of the City Fire District, he said. “This is very timely because since the start of the year, we have noted an increase in fire incidences specially bush fires because of the onset of the dry season.”
Aside from fire trucks, the city government is also initiating efforts to construct fire-substations in the barangays, three of which are the almost completed fire stations in Boalan, Recodo and Calarian.
Col. Ramirez expressed delight that almost all the fire-substations in the city are donated or constructed by the local government unit and that these are more presentable and aesthetically done that these are incomparable to central fire station buildings in other areas.
Present during the turn over ceremony yesterday were Councilors Cesar Iturralde, Nonong Guingona, Rudy Lim, Lilia Nuño and Amman Nuño, Luis Biel and Rey Candido and council aspirants Pareja, Kaiser Olaso, Elbert Atilano and Ller Natividad; fire district personnel and other city officials.
Fr. Barcelo presided over the blessing of the fire trucks prior to the turn over. (Sheila Covarrubias)