Philippines to Deploy 1,500 New Fire Trucks Nationwide in 18 Months

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) aims to complete its nationwide rollout of new firetrucks within 18 months to address gaps in firefighting equipment, Secretary Jonvic Remulla said on Thursday. In a statement, the DILG said the rollout will involve 1,500 firetrucks that will strengthen emergency response capabilities across the country. “Within one and a half years, kumpleto na lahat ang munisipyo, wala na tayong magiging problema. Kumpleto na sa buong Pilipinas,” Remulla said. (Within one and a half years, all municipalities will be complete, and we will no longer have any problems. It will be complete across the entire Philippines.) READ: DILG set to procure 1,500 fire trucks from South Korea A 2025 Commission on Audit (COA) report showed that 119 municipalities still have no activated fire station while 11 municipalities have no firetrucks as of Dec. 31, 2024. Remulla previously bared that the 1,500 fire trucks would be acquired through a government-to-government transaction with South Korea. “This is the cleanest transaction that is possible with the best possible benefit sa lahat ng mga Pilipino,” he said. (This is the cleanest transaction possible, with the best possible benefit for all Filipinos.) (with reports from Rendell Ivan Manuel, INQUIRER.net trainee) /gsg