The commanders and personnel of 12 police stations, members of Task Force Davao, and journalists attended the three-day seminar on bomb awareness and threat management starting Wednesday at the Grand Men Seng Hotel.
In an interview at the sidelines of the activity, Brig. Gen. Marcelo Morales, the director of the Police Regional Office XI, said it’s part of the initiative of the Davao City Police Office and the local government to enhance the security of Davao city.
“As you can see, we did not stop in Improving our security by giving continuous lectures and seminars in our station commanders, members of Task Force Davao and stakeholders and security officers of different establishments,” Morales said.
Also, city police director, Col. Alexander Tagum, said participants will also learn a course on basic intelligence and counter-intelligence.
He said the seminar will equip participants with more knowledge, educating, and capability-building to enhance security measures of the city.
Among the speakers of the seminar was Maj. Allen Alcido, the chief of the Philippine Bomb Data Center, and his assistant, Technical Staff Sgt. Joweh Quiñal.
The participants were taught on the definition, classification of service grenades, types of bombs and hand grenades and their components, EOD tips and warnings, and immediate actions.
They also discussed the four steps to IED scene management:
1. Confirm the IED
2.Evacuate the IED area (at least 300 meters away)
3.Cordon and control
4. Call EOD experts
Meanwhile, Tagum revealed that he proposed to Mayor Sara Duterte to train new bomb experts considering that majority of the EOD personnel of the city are near the retirement age.
“So its about time that we recruit younger police officers and non-commissioned officers to undergo EOD training to become the frontliners against terrorism,” he said.
The DCPO-EOD only has eight personnel and half of them are about to retire soon.
He said that they are requesting for a P2 million budget for the training.
“There is a need that a personnel has high IQ, and capability to learn,” he added.
