MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) is still short of 30,000 firefighters and personnel.

This is one of the problems the agency is facing aside from other perennial issues such as shortage of fire trucks, firefighting equipment and accessories.

"The BFP has an ongoing procurement. We actually have an annual procurement plan," said BFP chief Rolando Bandilla. "But the problem still persists. There is never enough funds for everything we need."

Bandilla said the ideal ratio for firefighters to civilians is one firefighter to 2,000 inhabitants. However, with the 94 million population of the Philippines, the BFP still needs 30,000 more personnel to effectively do its job.

"The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approves 500 firefighters for us yearly," he said. "But it would take maybe 60 more years to complete the 30,000 personnel that we need. And by that time, the population would have already doubled, so we would need more personnel again."

The Fire Chief said their agency is closely coordinating with local government officials to help with their supplies. "We just need to inform the higher authorities of our basic needs," he said.