MANILA — Five Regional Directors (RDs) of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) has been promoted to the rank of Chief Superintendent equivalent to a one-star rank.
The newly-promoted officers are Chief Supt. Wilberto Rico Neil Ang Kwan Tiu, Chief Supt. Samuel Cataniag Tadeo, Chief Supt. Jorge Bacricio Fariñas, Chief Supt. Lindy Cinco Lauzon, and Chief Supt. Maria Sofia Bayona Mendoza.
The officers took their oath before Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año, in a ceremony witnessed by DILG Undersecretary for Public Safety Nestor F. Quinsay, Jr., senior officials of the BFP led by Fire Chief Director Leonard R. Bañago and Deputy Chief for Operation Chief Supt. Jose S. Embang, Jr. as well as Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Officer-in-Charge, Chief Supt. Allan S. Iral and Deputy Chief for Operation, Chief Supt. Ruel Rivera at the DILG-Napolcom Center in Quezon City.
“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,” Año said in a statement.
He reminded the newly-promoted officers of the saying that ‘with greater power comes greater responsibility’, as he compared the firefighters to the fictional superhero Spiderman, who he said also climbs building to rescue and fight destructive fires.
Presently, CSupt. Kwan Tiu, 48, is the RD of the BFP National Capital Region (NCR). He was a graduate of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) Class of 1995 and a Civil Service Commission Lingkod Bayan awardee.
CSupt. Tadeo, 52, is the RD of BFP Region III, who received numerous honors; CSupt. Fariñas is presently the RD of BFP Region I; CSupt. Lauzon is the RD of BFP Region X; and CSupt. Mendoza, 55, the only female official to be sworn in is the RD of Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and second female to have the ranks of Chief Superintendent in the Bureau.
The DILG Chief said that the BFP is critical and important in realizing the Safe Philippines project of the government.
The Safe Philippines Project is a multi-billion project. which aims to ensure the effective and efficient management of public order, safety and security. It aims to level up the 911 emergency system and will be used to improve public safety, evidence collection in the event of criminal activities, incident prevention measures for disaster-related mitigation and response, and police and fire emergency response in addressing traffic and criminal incidents.
The Department targets to equip public safety and security forces with the latest technology to detect, prepare for, and respond to crime incidents and swiftly manage natural and human-induced disasters through Safe Philippines project.
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