PNP 11 pilots ‘Southern Storm’
THE Philippine National Police (PNP) will pilot the Task Group (TG) “Southern Storm”, a simultaneous exercise (Simex), to assess the readiness and inter-operability of the local law enforcers in addressing security threats and disaster response on February 5 to 8.
Police Director Camilo Cascolan, deputy director general for operations and overall supervisor of the task group, said in a press forum yesterday that they are now preparing and coordinating with other law enforcers for the upcoming Simex which will be participated by different national agencies and law enforcement agencies.
“Actually my purpose here is to prepare Davao for the initial simulation exercise that we will do on the second week of February,” he said.
Cascona said that they hold exercises at the Davao International Airport for crisis emergency response, maritime law enforcement, counter-insurgency with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), law enforcement operations within the heart of Davao City and fire Simex with the Bureau of Fire Protection.
“We will be doing these exercises initially here; the pilot project will be here in Davao City. We will be inviting a lot of VIPs coming from other regions in Mindanao so that they will be able to see and to prepare their region when we go there,” he said.
With this, he urged the public’s cooperation and understanding on the inconvenience it might temporarily cause as they will lockdown some streets during the conduct of these exercises for the benefit of the community.
He also said they will try to identify the gaps and weaknesses, then find ways to correct the system for a better response rate among the different offices.
As part of its operational strategy, aside from the PNP, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) 11, Department of Health (DOH), Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, local government unit and the community will also participate in the simulation exercise.
The Simex seeks to reorient the police officers from the lowest up to the highest rank on what to do in case of crisis.