Duterte tells firefighters siren not license to kill

February 11, 2020

President Rodrigo Duterte reminded firefighters on Tuesday the firefighters that responding to emergency is not a license to kill anyone or destroy the property.

Duterte made the statement during the turnover ceremony of 51 firetrucks, 20 water tender and three rescue trucks to the local government units held in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

"When you are behind a wheel and there is assistance for well an emergency and you put on the blinker, it is not a license for you to just drive whatever the space in the streets may be," he said.

He said using a siren only warns the people on the streets that they have to go on the side because of an emergency.

"You do not have to destroy properties or to kill. That siren would put on notice publicly that there is an emergency," the President explained.

He recalled an incident in Davao City when a student was killed by a responding firetruck, prompting him to conduct a lecture to the firemen involved. Celerina Monte/DMS