NPD director Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil said the 50 SWAT members had been chosen from among the finest officers at the four police stations in the Camanava (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela) area.
The team, composed of 48 men and two women, would be tapped for NPD’s intelligence, counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism operations.
"The group would be deployed for crisis management," Bataoil said.
Apart from fighting urban terrorism, the new SWAT team was also trained in operations against organized crime, such as kidnapping, bank robberies and hostage situations.
One of their training officers, Superintendent Rafael Santiago, formerly of the elite Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) and now NPD operations chief, said the rigid training undergone by the new SWAT team would be of great help in the accomplishment of police tasks.
Bataoil personally handed diplomas to the officers during simple graduation rites at the Malabon Practical Shooters Association Inc. firing range in Malabon City last Friday. – Pete Laude, Jerry Botial