Iloilo province to form SWAT team
Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. has proposed the immediate organization of a Special Weapon and Tactics (SWAT) team that will respond to crisis situations in the province.
As it is, the Iloilo Police Provincial Office doesn’t have enough expertise, skills, and knowledge as far as crisis management is concerned, he said.
Before its creation, Defensor, also chairman of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council, said members composing the team will undergo “special skills training” and will be provided equipment.
He said the proposal is quite expensive but it would be better to prepare earlier than not doing anything about it.
“We will look for the budget for this because it is very important. We have to anticipate. What happened in Manila could also happen here because we have an international airport and anything can happen,” he said.
Defensor also said each mayor from 42 towns and one component city in Iloilo is required to form a crisis management committee.
The mayors earlier this week attended a seminar at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol to help them organize a crisis management committee within their locality that will be composed of the mayor and other officials, municipal disaster council, and the Philippine National Police.
The recent crisis seminar-workshop was organized by the League of Municipalities of the Philippines-Iloilo Chapter headed by its president Anilao Mayor Ma. Teresa Debuque.
Debuque said the seminar-workshop was convened to equip local chief executives and the police chiefs enough knowledge on how to face crisis situations in their respective localities.*
