iFM Laoag – A major concern to Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc was the number of fire incidents in the province particularly in the first half of the year.
He said he has already referred the case to the mayors, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine National Police and all the “first responders” of the fire.
He said that some of them acted immediately by commanding punong barangays, barangay ranger officers and some even restarted checkpoints in the barangays.
He found that from “data”, most fires are related to people’s behavior.
However, Manotoc stated that he still receives information that fires are coming from neighbouring provinces.
He said there may have been some truth to it because there were fires in remote and uninhabited mountains.
He indicated that resilience officers, PNPs, BFPs, checkpoints, officers of the Barangay Ranger and barangay tanods should be alerted.
Meanwhile, the governor stated that the BFP has already sent an “increase force” to the province and in the past, additional PNP forces have arrived.
The governor added that the Philippine Air Force extinguished the mountain fire with the help of a helicopter.
However, the governor believes there is a need for greater vigilance, accountability and community co-operation. ### Bernardo B. Ver II @ RMN News
