US Embassy in PH hold 1st counterterrorism workshop in Mindanao

Fifty-seven prosecutors and investigators in Mindanao participated in the first counterterrorism training in Zamboanga City with the US Embassy in the Philippines.

The training was held from August 28 to 30 through the US Department of Justice (US DOJ) Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training (OPDAT), according to an embassy statement released Friday.

“This is the very first counterterrorism workshop conducted in Zamboanga City,” Officer-in-Charge Regional Prosecutor Dennis Araojo said. “It is important to prepare all prosecutors to handle terrorism cases.”

The US Embassy said US DOJ National Security Division Prosecutor Lolita Lukose, US DOJ Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Digital Analyst Michael Mazzone, and US Embassy Resident Legal Advisor David Bragdon were among those who led the training.

Meanwhile, Philippine experts from the Regional Trial Court, the Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the Philippine National Police, and the Anti-Money Laundering Council discussed Philippine law, investigative techniques, terrorist threats, and crime scene response in relation to terrorism cases.

Retired Zamboanga Regional Prosecutor Peter Medalle also taught best practices in prosecuting terrorism cases.

The US Embassy said the OPDAT would conduct on Sept. 10-14 a series of roundtable discussions on criminal investigative techniques, featuring an experienced U.S. prosecutor and a U.S. law enforcement agent who will travel from Raleigh, North Carolina.

On September 20-21, OPDAT and the Philippines Judicial Academy will also hold a cybercrime workshop for judges, the first in a series of workshops to train newly-designated cyber court judges from around the country, the Embassy added.  /kga