Can security personnel detect bombs?

Relieved Malacañang officials called the hijacker of a Philippine Airlines Airbus 330 a member of the "Abu Sayyad" -- a play on a Tagalog word indicating a crackpot. There seemed to be general agreement among government and security officials yesterday that the hijacker, whose identity remained uncertain, was mentally unstable. This can only heighten public anxiety. If a lunatic can get past security at the Davao International Airport, what more a determined terrorist in full control of his senses?

Until yesterday, officials could not adequately explain how security checks at the airport, including bomb-sniffing dogs, failed to detect the hijacker's pistol and hand grenade. An airport official said the hijacker was the last to board the plane through the pre-departure area. There were conflicting reports on whether the x-ray machine and metal detector at the airport were working. But even if the machines worked, did the personnel manning them know what to watch out for?

A report yesterday said many security personnel cannot identify a bomb if they see one. The problem gets worse when security personnel must watch out for bomb components, which terrorists can assemble quickly at a target site. Do all those security guards at shopping malls know what to watch out for? Can they identify plastic explosives? At the regional police headquarters in Cebu City, the head of the section supervising security agencies said most security personnel are not trained in bomb detection. This is not surprising since even police officers themselves need special training in the handling of explosives.

Experts in the military and police can sniff out explosives as well as manufacture and disarm bombs. It will be dangerous to train thousands of civilian security personnel in the manufacture of bombs. But security personnel can be trained at least in detecting explosives and bomb components. The police can't possibly keep a close watch on all public places, business and commercial establishments in the country. For this job, the public must also rely on security guards, with a little supervision from the police. In this crucial task, the government must see to it that security guards know what they're doing.