City of Naga now has own SWAT team

CEBU, Philippines - The City of Naga now has its own Special Weapons and Tactics team.

The 20-man team was activated yesterday during a ceremony held at the Enan Chiong Activity Center.

"This is a very laudable example of leadership that is worthy of emulation. Hopefully, this will be brought to respective municipalities," said Sr. Supt. Conrado Capa, deputy director for operations of Police Regional Office-7, in his speech.

The activation ceremony was highlighted with a demonstration of a close-quarter battle by the new SWAT team. Capa recalled the hostage-taking crisis in Rizal Park, which he described as "one of PNP's darkest hours" because it resulted in several deaths, all were tourists from Hong Kong.

He said the "unfortunate incident" was due to the responding PNP personnel's lack of training on crisis like that. He said after that incident, the PNP has espoused more special units in every district.

Mayor Valdemar Chiong said the city's own SWAT team will not only be helping the local police secure Naga but also in other local government units that will need its help. The city may not have a high crime rate, but Chiong said this special unit is "to prepare Naga for any eventuality."

The mayor said he will include in next year's annual budget the procurement for the team's gear, equipment and trainings. The P10-million new police station will also have a room for the city's SWAT team.

Meanwhile, Cebu Provincial Police Office director Sr. Supt. Noel Gillamac said they are aiming on having SWAT teams in as many local government units in Cebu.

He said the cities of Bogo, Danao, Talisay and others will also be activating theirs in the coming months. The purpose of having a special unit like SWAT is to maintain the peace and order of the area which can result to confidence of investors. Gillamac turned over an M16 baby armalite to the new SWAT team.

Capa told the new SWAT members not to stay in their office and wait for encounters, instead they should go out and make their presence seen in business establishments like banks and schools to deter crimes. — (FREEMAN)