The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) is sending 63 nurses from its unit to Metro Manila hospitals to help in the country’s COVID-19 response program.
During the send-off ceremony held on Tuesday (May 18), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Spokesperson Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said that this is only the first batch of the 120 BFP nurses to be deployed.
These nurses will be sent to 12 hospitals in the National Capital Region (NCR) based on the memorandum of agreement between the BFP and the Department of Health (DOH).
According to the BFP, the volunteer nurses underwent a series of training and some of them have already been vaccinated against COVID-19.
The BFP reassured that they will get hazard pay and compensatory benefits in the duration of their three-month service.
BFP Chief F/Dir. Jose Embang, Jr. said, “Napaka-minimal number ho ‘yun para maapektuhan ‘yung efficiency namin sa firefighting,… Ang pagdeploy nito, they were not forced, they were not coerced but all of them volunteered.” – Report from Patrick De Jesus / CF-rir