Binay exhorts agents: Be prepared for worst

MANILA, Philippines—Vice President Jejomar Binay has called for “constant vigilance against security threats” in the Asia-Pacific region, stressing the need to be “proactive instead of reactive” and of being prepared for the worst.

Speaking before the 14th retraining conference of the Asia-Pacific chapter of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy Associates (FBINAA) at the Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City on Monday, Binay said: “We must not only prepare for the worst, we must prepare for all possible contingencies.”

“We must always be a step ahead,” he said.

The FBINAA groups senior law enforcement professionals who have trained at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

Binay, also the government’s housing czar and presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers’ concerns, said, “We must never be content with being reactive because the price of reactivity as opposed to preparedness is measured in lives lost, a price too high to pay for any individual or nation.”

He cautioned conference participants not to be complacent when it came to peace and security.

“It is worth keeping in mind that the enemies are mirroring our own efforts. They are, without a doubt, finding new ways to get around our efforts to keep our people safe,” he said.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) hosted some 200 FBINAA alumni from, aside from the Philippines, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, New Zealand, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor Leste and the United States.

In a press briefing during the conference NBI Director and FBINAA Philippines president Magtanggol Gatdula said the primary focus of the conference was combating terrorism and crimes that transcend international borders. Jerry E. Esplanada and Jeannette I. Andrade