The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has turned over the K-9 Training Facility, which it helped finance in a bid to further improve ports security across the country, to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
The K-9 Training Academy located in Mabalacat, Pampanga is the first-ever K-9 Academy in Southeast Asia and is expected to further strengthen the PCG’s counterterrorism, anti-smuggling, and law enforcement efforts at the nation’s critical maritime points of entry.
PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago said the K-9 Training Academy will set new standards for canine-based safety and protection nationwide.
“The concept behind this is for us to have an efficient, practical and cost-effective improvement of our K-9 capability under the Philippine Coast Guard, and for us to have a uniform standard when it comes to K-9 services,” said Santiago in his speech during the turnover ceremony.
“The K-9 Training Academy is poised to become the premiere provider of K-9 security services in the Philippines. With a focus on world-class training, cutting-edge facilities, and expert instructors, the K-9 Academy aims to revolutionize K-9 security operations across the country,” he added.
Santiago said the establishment of the K-9 Academy is part of a broader strategy to enhance the security infrastructure of the country’s ports, with a focus on increasing operational efficiency and reinforcing the protection of vital economic and transportation hubs.
The K-9 Academy
The K-9 Academy is equipped to handle the training needs of at least 128 K-9 dogs and 100 handlers.
The facility includes several specialized sections: a Canine Development Center, a Canine School, a Canine Breeding Center, a Canine Hospital, and a Kennel Management and Biosecurity unit.
These areas are designed to offer comprehensive training for various K-9 roles, including bomb threat detection, fugitive apprehension, narcotics interception, and other security-related functions.
The academy’s capabilities also extend to in-house breeding and veterinary care, ensuring that K-9 units are healthy, well-trained, and ready for deployment across the Philippines’ ports.
These highly trained K-9 teams will be deployed to various ports across the Philippines to support security operations and enhance the country’s ability to combat illegal activities in the maritime domain.
Evolving security threats
Santiago emphasized the necessity of having the training facilities amid the continuous evolution of security threats.
The training academy for K-9 units, he said, seeks to address this by offering specialized training programs that prepare K-9 teams for a wide range of security challenges, including detection, search and rescue (SAR), and anti-terrorism efforts.
“With a deep commitment to professionalism and excellence, the PCG-PPA K-9 Training Academy is dedicated to ensuring that every K-9 unit it trains is prepared for the complexities of modern security challenges,” he said.
PCG Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, expressed his gratitude for the transfer and emphasized the importance of the academy in strengthening the Philippine Coast Guard’s operations.
“We thank the Philippine Ports Authority for opening the doors to other stakeholders who would like to get the services of the Philippine Coast Guard. As of now our country doesn't have the K-9 authority and we hope that with this facility, we could request the appropriate government agencies to recognize the Coast Guard as the K-9 authority of our country,” said Gavan.