Barangay Public Safety Officers (BPSO) or “tanods” in Quezon City will undergo skills enhancement training as part of the city government's beefed-up response to the pandemic.

The skills training is being conducted by the QC local government in partnership with the Department of Interior and Local Government QC (DILG QC).

The entire training will cover all 2,426 regular BPSOs in the city and will last until October 21.

According to Barangay and Community Relations Department (BCRD) Head Ricky Corpuz, the Barangay Tanod Skills Enhancement Training is conducted through a blended approach that combines online and face-to-face training methods.

“Oportunidad ito para i-reskill at upskill natin ang mga tanod lalo na’t maging sila ay nahaharap sa mga bagong hamon na dulot ng pandemya (This is an opportunity for us to reskill and upskill our watchmen as they face new challenges posed by the pandemic),” he said.

“Sa tulong ng training na ito, mas lalawak ang kanilang kaalaman tungkol sa kanilang tungkulin at sana mapabuti pa nila ang kanilang trabaho sa barangay (With the help of this training, they will be able to expand their knowledge about their duties and hopefully improve their work in the barangay),” he added.

The pilot session started last September 5 to 7 and attended by 20 officers from barangays Bungad and Commonwealth.

Mayor Joy Belmonte expressed her support for the skills enhancement training.

“Sinisiguro nating nabibigyan natin ng de-kalidad na serbisyo ang ating mga komunidad habang hindi naman nako-kompromiso ang kalusugan ng mga barangay personnel na nagsisilbing frontliners (We ensure that we provide quality services to our communities while not compromising the health of the barangay personnel who are serving as frontliners),” said Belmonte.

After the training for tanods, the BCRD, the City Planning Department, and DILG QC will also conduct a joint Barangay Development Planning Seminar for the Barangay Development Council.