Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Eighteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. Bees

Introduced by Representative Jorge Antonio P. Bustos

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to upgrade the rank structure and classification of the
uniformed personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Bureau of
Jail Management and Penology (BMP), amending for the purpose Republic Act
No. 9263, otherwise known as the “Bureau of Fire Protection and Bureau of
Jail Management and Penology Professionalization Act of 2004,"making it at
par with the rank classification of the Philippine National Police (PNP), the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

The BFP, BJMP and the PNP are line bureaus created under Republic Act
No. 6975, otherwise known as the “Department of the Interior and Local
Government Act of 1990.”

In times of national emergency, the BFP and the BJMP along with the
PNP and PCG, shall, upon the direction of the President, assist the AFP in
meeting the national emergency, in addition to the performance of their inherent
functions as mandated by law.

As members of the uniformed service of the government under the
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the BFP and the
BJMP personnel are required to exert the same amount of sacrifice, service and
dedication like their counterparts in the PNP and AFP in carrying out their
respective duties to the extent of risking their lives and limbs.


The rationale behind the proposal is to address the disparity in the pay
grade of BFP and BJMP personnel and make it on par with the pay grade of the
PNP, AFP and PCG personnel. The highest officer in the PNP is not equivalent,
in terms of rank classification and salary grades, to the highest officer of the BEP
and the BJMP despite the fact that they have the same nature of jobs as heads of
co-equal and indispensable bureaus of the DILG.

Upgrading the rank classification of the BFP and the BJMP to a level
commensurate with their critical role in maintaining peace and order and
protecting life, liberty and property, will strengthen their commitment to deliver
a more effective and efficient services for the country.

In view of the foregoing, the immediate consideration and approval of this

bill is earnestly urged.
CONG. JORGE ANTONIE BUSTOS


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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Eighteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 4423

Introduced by Representative Jorge Antonio P. Bustos

AN ACT

UPGRADING THE RANK STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE
UNIFORMED PERSONNEL OF THE BUREAU OF FIRE PROTECTION
AND THE BUREAU OF JAIL MANAGEMENT AND PENOLOGY,
AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9263, OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS THE “BUREAU OF FIRE PROTECTION AND BUREAU OF
JAIL MANAGEMENT AND PENOLOGY PROFESSIONALIZATION ACT OF
2004,” AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress Assembled:
SECTION 1. Section 3 of Republic Act No. 9263 is hereby amended to read
as follows:
“SEC. 3. Organization and Key Positions of the BFP and the
BJMP.— The BFP and the BJMP shall be respectively headed by a
Chief who shall be assisted by two (2) deputy chiefs, one (1) for

administration and one (1) for operations, all of whom shall be


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appointed by the President upon recommendation of the Secretary of
the DILG from among the qualified officers with at least the rank of
[senior superintendent] MAJOR GENERAL in the service: Provided,
That in no case shall any officer who has retired or is retirable within
six (6) months from his/her compulsory retirement age be appointed
as Chief of the Fire Bureau or Chief of the Jail Bureau, as the case
may be: Provided, further, That the Chief of the Fire Bureau and
Chief of the Jail Bureau shall serve a tour of duty not to exceed four
(4) years WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO THE APPLICATION OF THE
COMPULSORY RETIREMENT AGE PRESCRIBED FOR BFP
AND BJMP PERSONNEL: Provided, however, That in times of war
or other national emergency declared by Congress, the President may
extend such tour of duty.

“The heads of the BFP and the BJMP with the rank of [director]
GENERAL shall have the position title of Chief of the Fire Bureau
and Chief of the Jail Bureau, respectively. The second officers in
command of the BFP and the BJMP with the rank of [ehief
superintendent] LIEUTENANT GENERAL shall have the position
title of Deputy Chief for Administration of the Fire Bureau and

Deputy Chief for Administration of the Jail Bureau, respectively. The


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third officers in command of the BFP and the BJMP with the rank of
[ehiefsuperintendent] LIEUTENANT GENERAL shall have the
position title of Deputy Chief for Operations of the Fire Bureau and
Deputy Chief for Operations of the Jail Bureau, respectively. The
fourth officers in command of the BFP and the BJMP with the rank of
[chiefsuperintendent] LIEUTENANT GENERAL ‘shall have the
respective position title of Chief of Directorial Staff of the Fire Bureau
and Chief of Directorial Staff of the Jail Bureau, who shalt be assisted
by the directors of the directorates in the respective national
headquarters office with at least the rank of [senior-superintendent]
MAJOR GENERAL.

“THE HEADS OF THE MANAGEMENT SUPPORT STAFF
SUCH AS THE OFFICE OF THE LEGAL AFFAIRS SERVICE,
GENERAL SERVICES OFFICE, OFFICE OF THE ACCOUNTING
AND FINANCE SERVICE, OFFICE OF THE SUPPLY AND
PROCUREMENT SERVICE, OFFICE OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT
SERVICE, OFFICE OF THE MEDIA AFFAIRS SERVICE, OFFICE
OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS SERVICE, OFFICE OF THE

CHAPLAINCY SERVICE AND OFFICE OF THE HEALTH


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SERVICE, SHALL HAVE THE RANK OF BRIGADIER
GENERAL.

“The BFP and the BJMP shall establish, operate and maintain
their respective regional offices in each of the administrative regions
of the country which shall be respectively headed by a Regional
Director for Fire Protection and a Regional Director for Jail
Management and Penology with the rank of [senier-superintendent]
MAJOR GENERAL. He/she shall be respectively assisted by the
following officers with the rank of [superintendent] BRIGADIER
GENERAL: Assistant Regional Director for Administration, Assistant
Regional Director for Operations, and Regional Chief of Directorial
Staff.”

SEC. 2. Section 5 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 5. Appointment of Uniformed Personnel to the BFP
and the BJMP. — The appointment of uniformed personnel to the BFP
and the BJMP shall be effected in the following manner:

“a) Fire/Jail [Offiee-1] CORPORAL to [Senior] Fire/Jail
[Officer-I¥] CAPTAIN. — Appointed by the respective Regional
Director for Fire Protection and Regional Director for Jail

Management and Penology for the regional office uniformed


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personnel or by the respective Chief of the Fire Bureau and Chief of
the Jail Bureau for the national headquarters office uniformed
personnel, and attested by the Civil Service Commission (CSC);

“b) Fire/Jail [Fnspeetor] MAJOR to Fire/Jail [Superintendent}
BRIGADIER GENERAL. ~ Appointed by the respective Chief of the
Fire Bureau and Chief of the Jail Bureau, as recommended by their
immediate superiors, and attested by the CSC;

“c) Fire/Jail [Senior—Superintendent] MAJOR GENERAL. —
Appointed by the Secretary of the DILG upon recommendation of the
respective Chief of the Fire Bureau and Chief of the Jail Bureau, with
the proper attestation of the CSC; and

“d) Fire/Jail [Chief Superintendent] LIEUTENANT GENERAL
10 Fire/Jail [Pireetor] GENERAL. — Appointed by the President upon
recommendation of the Secretary of the DILG, with the proper
endorsement by the Chairman of the CSC.”

SEC. 3. Section 7 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 7. Professionalization and Upgrading of Qualification
Standards in the Designation of Uniformed Personnel of the BFP

and the BJMP to Key Positions. —


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“a) No person shall be designated to the following key positions

of the BFP unless he/she has met the qualifications provided therein:

“1) Municipal Fire Marshal. — Should have the rank of
[senior-inspeetor] LIEUTENANT COLONEL, who must have
finished at least second year Bachelor of Laws or earned at least
twelve (12) units in a master's degree program in public
administration, management, engineering, public safety,
criminology or other related disciplines from a recognized
institution of learning, and must have satisfactorily passed the
necessary training or career courses for such position as may be
established by the Fire Bureau;

“2) City Fire Marshal. — Should have the rank of [ehief
inspeetor] COLONEL, who must have finished at least second
year Bachelor of Laws or earned at least twenty-four (24) units
in a master's degree program in public administration,
management, engineering, public safety, criminology or other
related disciplines from a recognized institution of learning, and
must have satisfactorily passed the necessary training or career
courses for such position as may be established by the Fire

Bureau;


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“3) District Fire Marshal, Provincial Fire Marshal,
Assistant Regional Director for Administration, Assistant
Regional Director for Operations and Regional Chief of
Directorial Staff: - Should have the rank of [superintendent]
BRIGADIER GENERAL, who must be a graduate of Bachelor
of Laws or a holder of a master’s degree in public
administration, management, engineering, public safety,
criminology or other related disciplines from a recognized
institution of learning, and must have satisfactorily passed the
necessary training or career courses for such position as may be
established by the Fire Bureau;

“4) District Fire Marshal for the National -Capital
Region, ASSISTANT REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR
ADMINISTRATION, ASSISTANT REGIONAL DIRECTOR
FOR OPERATIONS, Regional Director for Fire Protection and
Director of the Directorate of the National Headquarters
Office. — Should have at least the rank of [senior
superintendent] MAJOR GENERAL, who must be a graduate
of Bachelor of Laws or a holder of a master's degree in public

administration, management, engineering, public _ safety,


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criminology or other related disciplines from a recognized
institution of learning, and must have satisfactorily passed the
necessary training or career courses for such position as may be
established by the Fire Bureau;

“5) Deputy Chief for Administration of the Fire Bureau,
Deputy Chief for Operations of the Fire Bureau and Chief of
Directorial Staff of the Fire Bureau. — Should have the rank of

[ehief-superintendent] LIEUTENANT GENERAL, who must

be a member of the Philippine Bar or a holder of a master's

“degree in public administration, management, engineering,

public safety, criminology or other related disciplines from a
recognized institution of learning, and must have satisfactorily
passed the necessary training or career courses for such position
as may be established by the Fire Bureau; and

“6) Chief of the Fire Bureau. — Should have the rank of
[direetor] GENERAL, who must be a member of the Philippine
Bar or a holder of a master's degree in public administration,
management, engineering, public safety, criminology or other
related disciplines from a recognized institution of learning, and

must have satisfactorily passed the necessary training or career


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courses for such position as may be established by the Fire
Bureau.

“b) No person shall be designated to the following key
positions of the BJMP unless he/she has met the qualifications
provided therein:

“1) Municipal Jail Warden. — Should have the rank of
[senierinspeeter] LIEUTENANT COLONEL, who must have
finished at least second year Bachelor of Laws or earned at least
twelve (12) units in a master's degree program in management,
public administration, public safety, criminology, penology,
sociology, national security administration, defense studies or
other related disciplines from a recognized institution of
learning, and must have satisfactorily passed the necessary
training or career courses for such position as may be
established by the Jail Bureau;

“2) City Jail Warden. — Should have the rank of [ehief
inspeetor] COLONEL, who must have finished at least second
year Bachelor of Laws or earned at least twenty-four (24) units
in a master's degree program in management, public

administration, public safety, criminology, penology, sociology,


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national security administration, defense studies or other related
disciplines from a recognized institution of learning, and must
have satisfactorily passed the necessary training or career
courses for such position as may be established by the Jail
Bureau: Provided, That in city jails with a population of one
thousand (1,000) or more inmates, the city jail warden shall
have the rank and qualifications of a district jail warden;

“3) District Jail Warden, Provincial Jail Administrator,
Assistant Regional Director for Administration, Assistant
Regional Director for Operations and Regional Chief of
Directorial Staff. — Should have the rank of [superintendent]
BRIGADIER GENERAL, who must be a graduate of Bachelor
of Laws or a holder of a master's degree in management, public
administration, public safety, criminology, penology, sociology,
national security administration, defense studies or other related
disciplines from a recognized institution of learning, and must
have satisfactorily passed the necessary training or career
courses for such position as may be established by the Jail

Bureau;

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“4) Regional Director for Jail Management and
Penology, ASSISTANT REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR
ADMINISTRATION, ASSISTANT REGIONAL DIRECTOR
FOR OPERATIONS and Director of the Directorate of the
National Headquarters Office. — Should have at least the rank
of [senior superintendent] MAJOR GENERAL, who must be a
graduate of Bachelor of Laws or a holder of a master's degree in
management, public administration, public safety, criminology,
penology, sociology, national security administration, defense
studies or other related disciplines from a recognized institution
of learning, and must have satisfactorily passed the necessary
training or career courses for such ‘position as may be
established by the Jail Bureau;

“5) Deputy Chief for Administration of the Jail Bureau,
Deputy Chief for Operations of the Jail Bureau and Chief of
Directorial Staff of the Jail Bureau. — Should have the rank of
[chief superintendent] LIEUTENANT GENERAL, who must
be a member of the Philippine Bar or a holder of a master's
degree in management, public administration, public safety,

criminology, _ penology, sociology, national _ security


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administration, defense studies or other related disciplines from
a recognized institution of learning, and must have satisfactorily
passed the necessary training or career courses for such position
as may be established by the Jail Bureau; and

“6) Chief of the Jail Bureau. — Should have the rank of
[director] GENERAL, who must be a member of the Philippine
Bar or a holder of a master's degree in management, public
administration, public safety, criminology, penology, sociology,
national security administration, defense studies or other related
disciplines from a recognized institution of learning, and must
have satisfactorily passed the necessary training or career
courses for such position as may be established by-the Jail
Bureau.

“XXX. XXX XXX.”
SEC. 4. Section 12 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 12. Standardization of the Base Pay, Retirement and
Other Benefits of the Uniformed Personnel of the BFP and the
BJMP. — In order to enhance the general welfare, commitment to
service and professionalism of the uniformed personnel of the BFP

and the BJMP, they shall receive the minimum starting salary


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equivalent to the salary grade level of the corresponding rank

classification of their counterparts in the PNP, as provided under

Section 36 of Republic Act No. 8551, and in the AFP, as provided

under Section 2 of Republic Act No. 9166.

“The rate of base pay of the uniformed personnel of the BFP

and the BJMP shall be adjusted in accordance with the following

RANK CLASSIFICATION AND salary grade schedule:

RANK SALARY GRADE
Fire/Jail [Director]GENERAL [28)30
Fire/Iail [Chief-Superintendent]LIEUTENANT GENERAL [27)29
Fire/Jail [Senior Superintendent] MAJOR GENERAL [26)28
Fire/Jail [Superintendent] BRIGADIER GENERAL [25/27
Fire/Jail [Chief Inspector] COLONEL “24)26
Fire/Jail [Senior Inspector] LIEUTENANT COLONEL (23)25
Fire/ Jail [Inspector] MAJOR [22}24
[Senior] Fire/Jail [Officer ¥] CAPTAIN [49)23
[Senior] Fire/Jail [Officer HI] LIEUTENANT [48}22
| [Senior] Fire/Jail [Officer] MASTER SERGEANT [19
[Senior] Fire/Jail [Officer] TECHNICAL SERGEANT ~6)18
Fire/Jail [Officer HI] STAFF SERGEANT (417
Fire/Jail [eer H] SERGEANT p16
Fire/Jail [Officer }] CORPORAL foyi4
FIRE/JAIL FIRST CLASS 12

FIREMAN/JAILMAN

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Provided, That all benefits currently received by the uniformed

personnel of the BFP and the BJMP under other existing laws shall

continue to be received by them: Provided, further, That their

retirement pay shall be subject to adjustment/s based on the prevailing

scale of base pay of the uniformed personnel in the active service.”

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1 SEC. 5. Appropriations. — The amount necessary to implement the provisions
2 of this Act may be sourced from the current appropriation of the Miscellaneous
3 Personnel Benefits Fund. Thereafter, such sum as necessary for the continued
4 implementation of this Act must be included in the General Appropriations Act.
5 SEC. 6. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within thirty (30) days from
6 the effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government,
7 Director of Jail Management and Penology, Director of Fire Protection and
8 Commissioner of the Civil Service, in consultation with the Secretary of Budget and
9 Management and Secretary of Finance, shall issue the rules and regulations for the
10 _ effective implementation of this Act.
n SEC. 7. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations,
12~-and other issuances, or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of
13 _ this Act, are hereby deemed repealed, amended or modified accordingly.
4 SEC. 8. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
15 publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

16 Approved,

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