Claim: The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) turned over fire trucks and ambulances to Quezon City under the government’s “Bawat Buhay Mahalaga” campaign.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: The claim was posted by the Facebook page Quezon City Updates on October 7. As of writing, it has accumulated over 315,000 reactions, 24,000 comments, and 21,000 shares.
The post shows photos of the vehicles allegedly set to be delivered to the city, meant to help provide faster government services.
“Layunin nitong palakasin ang kakayahan ng mga lokal na pamahalaan sa pagtugon sa sunog, aksidente at iba pang emergency, upang mas mabilis na marespondehan ang bawat insidente at mas maprotektahan ang buhay ng mga mamamayan,” the post reads.
(It aims to strengthen the local government’s capability to respond to fires, accidents, and other emergencies, enabling faster incident response and better protection of citizens’ lives.)
The facts: The Quezon City government clarified in a Facebook post on October 8 that no fire trucks or ambulances from the DILG were turned over to the city.
It also clarified that it has no affiliation with the page that posted the claim, advising the public to refer to its official social media accounts for verified information.
“Walang katotohanan ang kumakalat na post sa social media tungkol sa umano’y pamamahagi ng ‘fire truck’ at ‘ambulance’ sa Quezon City mula sa Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). Base sa inilabas na press release ng DILG, ang turnover ay isinagawa sa ‘QUEZON PROVINCE’ at hindi sa Quezon City,” the post read.
(There is no truth to the post circulating on social media about the alleged distribution of ‘fire trucks’ and ‘ambulances’ in Quezon City from the Department of the Interior and Local Government. Based on the press release issued by the DILG, the turnover was conducted in ‘Quezon Province’ and not in Quezon City.)
On October 7, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla led the turnover of 30 Unified 911 emergency response motorcycles to the Quezon Police Provincial Office. During the event, Remulla also announced that the department is set to procure new fire trucks as part of a major push to modernize the Bureau of Fire Protection’s fleet.
Viral ‘fire trike’ claims: A similar claim circulated on social media around the same time alleging that the DILG bought fire trikes priced at P10 million each, to be distributed to different local government units.
Remulla clarified in an interview that the agency did not buy the small fire tricycles shown in the viral posts. He said the Nueva Ecija local government bought those vehicles back in July.
The interior secretary made the clarification as the photos of the small fire tricycles were linked to the DILG’s plan to buy 1,500 fire trucks next year. The planned purchase aims to address the country’s fire truck shortage and replace aging equipment. According to the DILG, the procurement is expected to save the government P9 billion, with each unit priced at P10 million, down from the previous P16 million price tag.
The agency added that its representatives went to Korea to establish a government-to-government agreement for the purchase. – Lourence Angelo Marcellana/Rappler.com
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