Aladano, A. N. (2016). Profit or safety: Policy conflicts affecting fire safety and protection (Unpublished master's thesis). Public Management Development Program, Development Academy of the Philippines.

Public Management and Development Program. Batch 4 Senior Executives Class. Thesis (SEC)--Development Academy of the Philippines.

On May 23, 2015, a tragic fire incident occurred at Kentex factory in Valenzuela City that killed 74 people. This could have been prevented has the local government of Valenzuela City strictly implemented the Republic Act 9514 (RA 9514) or otherwise known as the Fire Code of the Philippines. It provides that "Fire safety inspections should be conducted as a pre-requisite to grants of permit and/or licenses by local governments or other government agencies (Section 7a of RA 9514); and that inspections should be done at least once a year and every time the owner, administrator or occupant shall renew his/her business permit or permit to operate (Section 5g of RA 9514)." However, with the issuance of the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 1 series of 2010, which provides that "checking of compliance shall be done after the issuance of business permit," local officials issue business permits to establishments even without the Fire Safety Inspection Certificate (FSIC). The intention of the policy is to streamline the processing of business permits. This shows the glaring conflict between the two policies. In relation thereof, local governments must strike a balance between their mandate to promote local economic development, on the one hand, and their mandate to promote public welfare, health, and safety, on the other. Logically, the conduct of fire safety inspection and the prerequisites of FSIC for the issuance of business permit must be observed as strongly proposed in Option 1 of this paper. Moreover, the cited provision of the JMC will be used again to justify the issuance of business permit should tragic fire incidents occur. It is like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode and courting deadly injuries and casualties. This proves that public safety is of paramount concern and it cannot be compromised. Hence, the need to strengthen the strict implementation of the Fire Code of the Philippines and align the JMC No. 1 series of 2010 to this mandate.