Press Release - Cayetano vows to 'get to the bottom' of padlocking of EMBO fire stations

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano has vowed to "get to the bottom" of the padlocking of fire stations in the City of Taguig by the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), saying the issue will not end even if the stations are reopened.

In a Facebook Live broadcast on January 5, 2024, a visibly upset Cayetano said he will call for a Senate hearing on the matter and told the BFP to give a full report.

"We will have a hearing. I will get to the bottom of this. May tsansa pa kayo sa Bureau of Fire (Protection) by correcting and repenting," he said, explaining that the word "repent" means to change the way one thinks.

"I don't want your excuses. You give a full report of what happened," he added.

Cayetano said he only found out about the padlocking of fire stations on New Year's Day when he and his wife, City of Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano, visited the police stations of Barangays West Rembo and Comembo.

"First day of the year na bumalik ang mga EMBO sa Taguig after decades. Inimbita kami ni Lani sa West Rembo and Comembo at nag-boodle fight kasama ang mga police. Pagtingin namin, sa same compound, nakakandado ang fire station," he said.

The senator said this was despite the promise made by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) through a Supreme Court resolution in December that the EMBO fire stations, which had previously been part of the City of Makati, would be transferred to the City of Taguig on January 1, 2024.

The senator said he discovered that the stations had already been padlocked before the end of 2023 with neither Makati nor the BFP informing Taguig.

"Nu'ng December 31, nakakandado na pala ang mga fire station, wala tayong kamalay-malay. At alam naman po natin, red alert kapag December 31, dahil maraming gumagamit ng mga paputok," he said.

"I'm very emotional about this, kasi can you imagine, kung may sunog na nangyari diyan, hindi lang po y'ung mga gamit, pati y'ung buhay ng mga tao maaapektuhan," he added.

Cayetano said he found out later that the fire stations were ordered padlocked on orders of City of Makati Mayor Abby Binay, who had earlier said her city would abide by the Supreme Court ruling that placed the 10 EMBOs under the City of