The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) requested on Thursday the preventive suspension of Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Chief Gen. Jesus Fernandez, following its announcement that it filed multiple cases against him and suppliers reportedly involved in an ambulance kickback scheme.
“We are likewise asking that the Ombudsman preventively suspend Fire Chief Jesus Fernandez immediately to ensure the integrity of the ongoing investigation,” Assistant Secretary Atty. Jesi Howard Lanete said during a press conference.
The DILG filed graft, bribery, malversation, and conspiracy cases against Fernandez and suppliers over irregularities in the procurement of ambulance units.
Predetermined suppliers, upon securing a partnership with an automotive company, placed a bid on their behalf for the procurement contract, which they were awarded.
Fernandez is said to have received a total payout of ₱14.752 million from the supplier, handed over on two occasions in restaurants in Quezon City.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the cases filed on Thursday are only part of the first round of charges. In the coming days or weeks, the agency will file additional complaints related to the alleged bid rigging in the procurement of fire trucks.
“I was personally offered through an intermediary ₱1.5 million per truck as a cut sa bibilhin na bawat truck ng BFP,” Remulla reiterated. He recounted that he had just assumed office as secretary of the DILG in December 2025 when he began the investigation into the BFP.
He explained that individuals had to pay their way into the bureau. To regain their losses, regional directors would lend them up to hundreds of thousands of pesos, with which the employees would conduct private inspections.
They would earn back what they borrowed and profit by forcing business owners to purchase fire extinguishers for their establishments and overcharging for them.
“So nakita niyo, it’s a culture—there’s an ecosystem of corruption that has happened inside the BFP,” Remulla declared.
“Sa mga susunod na linggo o araw, ilalabas naman namin ‘yung iba pang forms of corruption na nangyayari sa loob,” he added. “Our end game is to clean up the BFP.”
