Southern Police District Headquarters
The Special Action Force's (SAF) duties and responsibilities in providing security to foreign embassies have been transferred to the Southern Police District (SPD).
According to SPD Director Brig. Gen. Bernard Yang, 132 SPD personnel are currently assigned to various embassies located in the SPD area of responsibility and an additional 42 personnel were deployed to five embassies.
Yang said the 42 SPD personnel underwent a four-day seminar focusing on protective security, specifically the security of diplomats and embassies, as part of the Letter of Instruction (LOI) 56/2011, which outlines operational protocols for diplomatic security.
He said the ceremonial turnover began with arrival honors for the presiding officer, Brig. Gen. Reynaldo H. Pawid, deputy director for operations, Philippine National Police (PNP).
The SPD chief, in his welcome remarks, expressed his gratitude to the outgoing security team for their dedicated service in safeguarding the embassies which he called vital installations. He also urged the incoming security team to maintain vigilance and commitment in securing the embassies.
Pawid witnessed the turnover of duties and responsibilities from the SAF, led by Major Samuel B. Mangetag Jr., officer-in-charge of the 12th Special Special Action Battalion, to Major Peter C. Aquino, Deputy Commander of the SPD Mobile Force Battalion.
The ceremony was witnessed by security officers and representatives from embassies located in Southern Metro Manila, including Alexander Thieltz, head of administration of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany; James Guntert, regional security adviser, and retired Colonel Arnold Dadis, post security manager of the British Embassy; Julie Tzvetcoff, acting regional security officer and retired Lieutenant Colonel Sandy Labrador of the Embassy of Australia; Uriya Moyal, chief security officer and second secretary and Bom Pinuela, security assistant of the Embassy of Israel; and Thomas Francuz, mission security manager and Melanie Yap, readiness program officer of the Embassy of Canada.
Francuz thanked the SAF for their outstanding service in providing embassy security and expressed confidence that the SPD would continue to uphold these standards.
Pawid highlighted the critical importance of maintaining secure embassies and ensuring the safety of diplomats and directed that SAF and the SPD continue to work together in joint operations to ensure a smooth transition until the end of the month.