By Jun Ramirez
The United States has agreed to help the Bureau of Immigration (BI) in its anti-terrorism campaign by training its personnel and exchanging intelligence information on the identities and whereabouts of suspected international terrorists.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Department of Homeland Security emblem is pictured at the National Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) located just outside Washington in Arlington, Virginia September 24, 2010. (REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang)
US Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis David Glawe made the pledge in a recent meeting with Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II and BI Commissioner Jaime Morente.
Aguirre welcomed Glawe’s visit as a positive step toward enhancing the Philippine government’s capability to effectively wage the global war against terrorism.
Noting that the war against terror requires a multi-pronged approach, Aguirre said “this will require us to work closely with our allies and maintain good working relations with them as we share knowledge and resources for the eradication of a borderless menace.”
Glawe said his government agreed to strengthen cooperation between the Philippines and US in areas related to counterterrorism, such as advanced passenger information sharing, intelligence sharing, and sharing of databases on blacklisted and watchlisted terrorists.
The US team also promised to train BI personnel on Biometric Screening, Fraudulent Document Training, and internet/social media monitoring.
Both parties expressed their respective commitments to foster closer ties and to explore other areas of possible collaboration in the future.
Meanwhile, Morente said that aside from US assistance, the bureau’s personnel have been receiving continuous training on anti-terrorism and document fraud detection from the Australian government.
Morente said the US and Australia have been active partners in the global campaign against human trafficking and they have been instrumental in upgrading the capability of our employees in detecting fraudulent documents and identifying trafficking victims and their couriers.
In a report, BI chief personnel officer Grifton Medina added that aside from the US and Australia, ASEAN member-states and other international organizations, such as the Asian Development Bank, have also been providing training and cooperative efforts to share best practices in upgrading competencies, improving performance management and fostering good governance.
it kanino (Maybe she's not a victim of bullying and it's just that she's just not acceptable as a Chief Justice)," Roque said.
Roque, meanwhile, reiterated that President Duterte will just let the Congress do its function of hearing Sereno's impeachment trial as dictated by the Constitution.
"Pagdating naman sa Presidente, hinahayaan naman ng Presidente ang proseso na umusad. Kasi nga, nasa Saligang Batas naman ang proseso na 'yan (When it comes to the President, he just lets the process take place. It's in the Constitution, anyway)," he said.