Security guards under scrutiny: Is 15-day training enough?

The responsibility of keeping thousands of people safe inside shopping malls is left in the hands of mostly underage high school graduates who merely underwent a 15-day training course for their job.

This was a candid observation coming from the Philippine National Police (PNP) official in charge of monitoring security agencies.

Chief Supt. Tomas Rentoy, head of the PNP Supervisory Office for Security and Investigation Agencies (Sosia), said security guards in general undergo a mere 15-day training before being deployed.

In an interview on dzIQ Radyo Inquirer on Thursday, Rentoy said the PNP would like to see a more professional security service in public places, and not just a job sector where high school graduates as young as 19 years old could be hired.

“They’re not really professional in their work because they lack education and they are underage. That’s why there are times when they don’t do their job well,” Rentoy said in Filipino on the program “Banner Story” hosted by Arlyn de la Cruz and Jake Maderazo.

The capability of shopping mall guards to respond to what Rentoy called “threat situations” has come under close scrutiny following the Jan. 26 jewelry store robbery in a giant mall in Mandaluyong City.

On Wednesday, the incident prompted the PNP to order security agencies with shopping mall contracts to arm their guards.

PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima stressed, however, that these guards should also be trained in handling firearms to avoid accidents.

“They have to be sharpshooters to protect the public, so that they will be spared from accidents,” Purisima told reporters on Thursday.

The PNP chief noted that security guards used to carry guns and that this did not scare people or prevent them from going to the malls.

“We are just putting this rule back in place because we can see that the security guards have become sitting ducks if armed robbers break into a mall. Are we going to let these armed robbers just go inside the malls for the reason that the security guards don’t have firearms? This is their job. The regulation is for them to carry firearms,” he said.

“We (the PNP) have supervisory powers. If they do not follow, maybe we can cancel their licenses. Wala nang awa ngayon (We will no longer give any leeway). We will be very strict,” Purisima said.

Purisima said he also wanted security guards to undergo further training in self-defense and in handling medical emergencies, suicide or hostage-taking scenarios and similar situations.