70 QC cops to train in handling bomb threats, deactivating bombs

Photo taken from qcpdpnp.com

MANILA, Philippines—The Quezon City Police District will be training its policemen in bomb identification seminar amid concerns of a possible spillover of the ongoing fighting in Mindanao.

The two-day seminar, to be overseen by the Explosives and Ordinance Division, will start this Wednesday (Sept. 18).

Insp. Noel Sublay, the EOD head, said some 70 policemen, mostly from the QCPD’s 12 police stations, have been picked to undergo the training.

“This seminar will be timely due to what is happening in Mindanao,” the official said.

The training will be for policemen deployed in malls and business establishments, as well as vital installations like the Metro Rail Transit and the Light Rail Transit lines.

Sublay said that with the seminar, “policemen will be aware of the kind of bombs brought into public places.”

“With their training, they can identify and intercept these bombs,” the official said.

Policemen will get an overview of terrorism, its contributing factors and forms, and its objectives and categories, according to Sublay.

Law enforcers will be taught terrorists’ motives and targets, as well as the kinds of bombs and explosive devices.

Sublay said the training would also teach the participants to recognize mail and package bombs; how to handle calls of bomb threats; what to do when a bomb explodes; and how to conduct searches in rooms and vehicles, indoor and outdoor searches.

The seminar, which will be also held in other police districts in Metro Manila, is in response to National Capital Region Office director Marcelo Garbo Jr.’s directive.