Cops, guards team up vs terror

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has found a formidable partner in the Philippine Association of Detective and Protective Agency Operators (PADPAO) in the continuing campaign against terrorism in the metropolis.

Lawyer Ramon Bergado, PADPAO president, said that on the suggestion of Metro police chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco, he has asked that it be mandatory for PADPAO members to be equipped with metal detectors and other gadgets necessary to thwart any plot that may be hatched by terrorists in their respective areas of jurisdiction.

With a membership of approximately 160,000 acting as "force multipliers," the PADPAO has helped the NCRPO in the implementation of pre-emptive security measures in the different vital installations in Metro Manila in line with President Arroyo’s directive of a relentless drive against terrorists.

This time, the security guards will work alongside police officers equipped with high-tech gadgets to prevent terrorists from even stepping foot on vital installations particularly government buildings, the Metropolitan rail transportation systems, oil depots, telecommunications, electric and water facilities, bus terminals, airports, seaports; as well as public places such as malls, parks, and other urban centers.

The upgrade in equipment, he pointed out, is necessary to keep pace with the technology being employed by terrorists to achieve their diabolical goal of sowing terror by any method.

For his part, Velasco said that there is always a need to reinvent methods in security. "These terrorists evolve all the time. They always come up with new means to carry out their deeds with the sole consideration of getting as many casualties as possible. We have to keep in step or even think ahead of them," Velasco added.

The NCRPO director pointed out that with the help of PADPAO, the Metro Manila police have been able to fill in the large gap in the police to civilian ratio in the metropolis.

"They are very effective as force multipliers of our police. With a small force, the police cannot be everywhere at once. The security guards, however, are assigned to the malls and other business establishments where most crimes occur," Velasco said, pointing out that they have the same effect on criminals as cops – the very sight of patrolling guards give the public peace of mind.

The members of the PADPAO have been authorized to go beyond the 50-meter perimeter of their respective stations upon witnessing the commission of a crime, to come to the aid of a victim and have been deployed in the biggest malls in Metro Manila and at Metro Rail Transit and Light Rail Transit terminals. – Non Alquitran