Press Release - Dela Rosa: Sponsorship speech

SENATOR RONALD "BATO" DELA ROSA

Mr. President, I rise to sponsor Senate Bill No. 2586 under Committee Report No. 212, which provides for the rank classification and organization of key positions in the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

Sa gitna ng kadiliman, kahit na ang munting ilaw na dala ng isang alitaptap ay maaaring magbigay ng pag-asa. Ngunit ang napabayaan namang kandila ay maaaring magdulot ng hindi masukat na pinsala. Sabi nga ng tanyag na manunulat na si Leo Tolstoy: "A spark neglected, burns the whole house."

With this in mind, I believe one mark of leadership is the ability to notice such a spark, Mr. President. The ability to notice, to pay attention, to that which would have otherwise been ignored, or taken for granted. Katulad po ninyo Ginoong Pangulo, binibigyang pansin ng tunay na lider ang mga bagay na tila madaling makaligtaan, o di kaya'y tila madaling isantabi o ipagpaliban. Nakikita ng tunay na lider ang mga ito at kanyang binibigyan ng solusyon.

Today, Mr. President, your Committee on Public Order joint with Committees on Local Government and Finance, would like to report to this august body the spark we saw. A spark which we should not let burn an entire house and start a wildfire. At present, there is a noticeable build-up of embers in the Bureau of Fire Protection or BFP and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology or BJMP that threatens to engulf them. You see, their current rank classification is highly combustible and even the smallest friction could cause these organizations to go up in flames.

They who fight and put out our fires for us, and those who confront the painful and tedious realities of reformation for us, should never be neglected. Let this day be the moment of conversation that addresses their concerns, especially in terms of whether or not they are being equitably recognized and compensated.

Almost literally, it feels like only yesterday when we approved, on Third Reading, the Jail Integration Act, transferring our provincial and sub-provincial jails to the supervision of the BJMP. And we can also move a little further to the past, back in 2020 when this