5 Negros Occidental fire marshals face relief after attending Boracay party

Five fire marshals in Negros Occidental could be relieved from their post if proven guilty of attending a farewell party with the Bureau of Fire Protection Regional Office (BFP) 6 employees in Boracay, Malay, Aklan.

Reports said the Negros Occidental five fire marshals are from Bacolod, Silay, Bago, San Carlos, and Cadiz.

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The group stayed in a hotel on June 12 to 14 after claiming they claimed they are attending a seminar there with the national task force. Local government officials later found out the BFP employees held a “despedida” party there.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año has ordered an investigation on the incident after a female employee who attended the party later tested positive for coronavirus disease.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) head office created a Special Investigation Task Force to probe the incident, particularly on the extent of participation of each involved BFP personnel.
“They were just relieved of their current positions. They are placed in floating status while undergoing investigation,” Año said.
The 26-year-old female BFP personnel was named Patient 143 by the Department of Health-Western Visayas.
Based on the information obtained by the city government, a female BFP staff member was aboard a ship from Cebu, but her name was not included in the manifesto.
Her boyfriend, a Fire Officer 1 (FO1) and another female officer of BFP 6, took her to a quarantine facility in Iloilo City and remained there until June 8.
On June 8, the female personnel was taken to the BFP Regional Office and remained there until June 11.
The female personnel also returned to Iloilo City after finding out she has COVID-19. It was previously reported that she had undergone the COVID-19 test in the first week of June and should have been quarantined for 14 days, but she went to Boracay just a few days after her swab test.
Año earlier sacked BFP-6 director Fire Senior Superintendent Roderick Aguto and relieved 28 others who were involved in the incident.
“Well, a total of 28 personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection Region VI were relieved of their positions, and of course they are undergoing quarantine. We have formed an investigation team that is coming from the headquarters of the Bureau of Fire Protection, they are going now to Iloilo to start the formal investigation,” Año told ANC.