By Betheena Unite
After five days of training, various law enforcement agencies are expected to be more capable of conducting certain maritime and border security measures.
A number of law enforcement agencies involved in maritime and border security in the country have undergone a five-day training on improvised explosives device (IED) components detection, recognition and identification.
It started last April 29 in Zamboanga City, the Philippine Coast Guard said.
The training aims to enhance the capability of law enforcers in the inspection and monitoring of controlled chemicals regulated under Republic Act 9516 (Law on explosives), incident response, and inter-agency protocol for incident investigation.
It also aims to increase cooperation among agencies in order to synchronize their efforts deterring related incidents.
Police Colonel Marlon Sapla, chief of Philippine Bomb Data Center and director for Intelligence was the designated course supervisor for the training.
During the first day of the training, Captain Edgardo Hernando, commander of the Coast Guard Special Operations Force, said that the Coast Guard is "willing to provide explosive ordnance device training to partner agencies."
He added that the proficiency of skills, observance of proper procedures, use of appropriate equipment, and interoperability among agencies are needed in order to maintain the safety and security of the public.
The training, the first of many future training, was participated by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Maritime Group, PNP Special Action Force, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Navy Special Operations Group, Philippine Ports Authority, Bureau of Customs, and members from the Indonesian National Police in collaboration with the British Government and the Philippine Bomb Data Center.
According to Coast Guard, the training was a result of the conducted evaluation on the Organisation Internationale de Police Criminelle (INTERPOL) Project Watchmaker last 2018.
It was also supported by the British Government.
It was disclosed that other training iterations will be conducted in Davao City, General Santos City, Cagayan de Oro City, and Manila.