Cebu City’s 230 Village Fire Volunteers To Continue Service Even Sans Allowance

Some 230 fire volunteers in Cebu City will continue to serve their villages even if their PHP3,000 monthly honorarium was among the items slashed from the city’s annual budget this year, an official said.

Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak said he heard from the volunteers themselves that they will continue to help the city and the barangays.

Tumulak said the executive department proposed to include PHP9.36 million in the 2016 budget for the honorarium of the fire volunteers in 23 barangays, but this was removed by the City Council.

These village fire volunteers have been receiving the honorarium since 2014, but they had served their barangays before without any remuneration, he said.

“Our fire volunteers are just among those who are affected by the budget cuts,” he said.

Tumulak said Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama is working for their honorarium because these volunteers contribute a lot to fire prevention and response in the barangays.

The plight of the barangay fire volunteers came to light as the city started Monday the observance of March as “Fire Prevention Month.”

The barangays with their own fire volunteers are Apas, Sto. Niño, Sta. Cruz, Guadalupe, Lorega, Tisa, Tejero, Punta Princesa, Quiot, Inayawan, Pardo, Cogon, Basak San Nicolas, Luz, Pasil, Sawang Calero, Suba, Sambag II, Mabolo, Ermita, Hipodromo and Tinago.

Tumulak said the city will continue to pay for the volunteers’ accident insurance.

Tumulak said they are appealing to the council to reinstate the honorarium and if possible, to include it in the first supplemental budget this year. (PNA) LAP/EB/EBP