Poe urges establishments to adopt clear security procedures

Sen. Grace Poe (left) discusses security issues with forum moderator Marichu Villanueva on Wednesday, June 7, 2017. (Photo from the Facebook page of Sen. Grace Poe)

There should be clear-cut guidelines for security procedures in both public and private establishments to prevent incident like the June 2 attack at Resorts World Manila that led to the death of 38 people, including the lone gunman, Sen. Grace Poe said on Wednesday.

Each establishment should have a protocol when it comes to responding to  emergency situations because they cannot rely on the police at all times, Poe said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay breakfast forum in Malate, Manila.

“I think what we need to pick up from this is how our security protocols are, both in private establishments as well as public spaces,” she said. “One of the things that was discussed was that the local government and then the mayor of the city should be the one giving the updates. Now the PNP (Philippine National Police), of course, have to be there, but I think, in light of terrorist threats worldwide as well as common crimes, the community has to be able to respond immediately.”

“Habang wala pa yung police, ano ang protocols sa committee, barangay ba? Local police doon, ano ang dapat gawin? At dapat alam din ng mga tao kasi kung wala tayo ng ganung measures eh nagkakaroon ng gulo, sino ba ang nagbibigay ng briefing? Sino ba ang in charge dito?” she added.

Mall security personnel should also be trained properly to respond to crisis situations similar to that of the attack in Resorts World.

“Pati na rin ang mga security sa mga malls,” Poe said. “Kasi siyempre tao din naman yan, pag may nakita kang mukhang nakakatakot na ganun, marami sa kanila matatakot, baka matakot din tayo pero dapat siguro meron silang button doon na kapag pinindot nila, may alarm na.”

Last Friday, Jessie Javier Carlos, a former tax specialist at the Department of Finance, terrorized the upscale casino-hotel complex, setting ablaze gaming tables and slot machines and stealing P113 million worth of casino chips. He later killed himself inside a hotel room.

Many of the fatalities died of suffocation from smoke inhalation after they were trapped inside the establishment. /atm