Support terror drill, Sara Duterte asks Davao City folk

Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio

DAVAO CITY—Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio asked village officials to help the city government inform residents of the planned lockdown of the city this month for a major drill that would test Davao’s preparedness against terror attacks and other emergencies.

Carpio said the city’s entry and exit points would be shut down for several hours during the drill, called “Southern Storm.”

Senior Insp. Maria Teresita Gaspan, city police spokesperson, said the final date of the lockdown and its duration had not been finalized but it would involve hundreds of soldiers, policemen and emergency responders.

Director Camilo Cascolan, operations chief of the Philippine National Police, said simultaneous drills would be held in Davao’s key areas, such as Davao International Airport, transport terminals and in waters surrounding the city.

Cascolan said the Davao drill would would be replicated in other areas of the country.

Military units would also conduct counterinsurgency operation exercises in the city’s hinterlands as part of the drills. —Frinston Lim