Iloilo business sector welcomes freeze of fire report requirement
The Iloilo business community has welcomed the decision of Department of Interior and Local Government to make starting a business easier, a Philippine News Agency report said.
Leah Lara, executive director of Iloilo Business Club, said the business community is glad that Interior and Local Government Secretary Jessie Robredo has ordered the Bureau of Fire Protection to suspend the requirement of the Fire and Life Safety Assessment Report for business establishments.
The DILG made it easier to start and continue a business because the FALAR is no longer required, she said.
FALAR is one of the requirements for the issuance of Fire Safety Inspection Certificates for business permits of buildings with occupancy of at least 50 persons, and of other business establishments.
It is a documentation of the required periodic maintenance and upkeep of fire and life safety features of the facility. It consists of a written report prepared by the building owner and his fire safety officer, and a compilation of the maintenance and testing records kept by the buildings engineering and maintenance departments.
Lara said the FALAR requirement had discouraged some small and medium business player in pursuing their business in Iloilo City.
Now that it is suspended, it would save small business players additional costs, she said, adding that the DILG and the BFP should also consider the revision of the fire code.
Lara said that with its decision, the DILG is very receptive of the request of the business community. This proves that the new administration is keen in helping the small business players to boost the local economy, she said.
However, Senior Supt. Ma. Sofia Mendoza, BFP-6 regional director, had earlier said there is no plan yet to discontinue the FALAR requirement for business establishments, despite the DILG to stop the practice.
Mendoza said the BFP Central Office has not yet informed them to stop the requirement.
Reports that some fire officials are asking a “fee” in exchange for the service that prompted DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo to direct the BFP to immediately discontinue the practice.
