This Bureau of Fire Protection unit just outside Metro Manila is becoming quite infamous for exacting a heavy “toll” on businesses under its jurisdiction.
Sources from the business community lament that to obtain the fire permit (that is in turn needed to get the business permit) for their facilities, they are compelled, in one way or the other, to deal with this unit under the table.
First, they have no choice but to buy the required number of fire extinguishers from the entities endorsed by the persons issuing the permit. Worse, the fire extinguishers are “grossly overpriced.” However, they must buy from these favored suppliers lest their application for fire clearance goes pffft.
They also complain about the chronic delays in inspection of the facilities for the purpose of fire clearance. And when they finally come, inspectors will always find faults that need to be “fixed.”
“So in one case, a fire permit that would only cost about P20,000 on a normal business day, went to as high as P1.5 million,” said one source.
And in the following year, when it’s time to renew business permits, including the fire permits, many additional requirements will be imposed even if a property had passed all their fire requirements the previous year, apparently to make it difficult to qualify and thus force property owners to “fix” the problems.
May those who oversee this unit—and many others just like it across the country—crack the whip on those blatantly profiting from fire permits at the expense of hapless business owners. —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla
Source: https://business.inquirer.net/439490/biz-buzz-fire-clearances-for-sale