Sunday, August 15, 2004
Members of Swat: the frontline of battle
By Oscar C. Pineda
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
POLICE work is risky, but it’s even more so for operatives in the Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) team.
They are trained to respond to high-risk incidents like hostage-taking, terrorism and bank robberies, said Senior Insp. Jonathan Pineda, head of the Lapu-Lapu City Swat team.
“Kami ‘yung unang pumapasok sa bahay o target area (We enter the target area before anyone else does),” he told Sun.Star.
This risk-taking was seen before the May 10 elections, when the Swat team responded to a hostage-taking alarm at the Amistad residence in Barangay Pajac.
Baptism of fire
That was their baptism of fire, as they had just completed their training then.
Their training included shooting, close-quarter combat, rappelling, assault from the sea and nighttime operations.
The elite police team’s presence is crucial for Lapu-Lapu, which hosts the international airport, various export firms and tourism destinations.
Formed by Mayor Arturo Radaza, a former policeman himself, the Swat was conceived to stem the growing number of crimes amid observations that criminals are getting bolder these days.
In raids, the Swat team first enters the house and clears it of any possible resistance or armed men.
Once everything is secured, the search party comes in and looks for illegal items.
In the event of a shootout, the Swat team takes the greatest risks.
Other functions
But because the city police lacks personnel, the Swat team also does other things.
During raids, the Swat team augments the local anti-drug operating unit Task Force Sagittarius.
They not only clear, but help in the actual search.
Pineda, aside from being Swat’s head, is also the Lapu-Lapu City police operations chief.
In addition to their jobs, Swat men also track down wanted persons.
Last Aug. 7, Pineda and his men went to a hinterland barangay of Sagbayan town in Bohol to arrest Joshua Soliano, a murder suspect who was in hiding for eight years.
For their capture of Soliano, the Swat team received commendations from the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas.
Asked how they identified and arrested Soliano, Pineda said, “It’s the community’s support that we rely on.”
In arresting local wanted persons, he employs the expertise of his three men—-PO3 Rene Dignos, PO2 Jacinto Mandal and PO1 Cielito Cañete—-who are all from Mactan Island.
Swat also assisted the Homicide Section in investigating the heinous killing of an 11-year-old girl in Barangay San Vicente and the eventual arrest of the prime suspect, Ramil Patigdas.
Patigdas is the victim’s uncle.
Previous stints
Pineda, who hails from Cabancalan in Negros Occidental, graduated from the Philippine National Police Academy in 1999. He was first assigned to the Regional Mobile Group (RMG) 7 in Cebu, where he earned his first promotion to senior inspector.
From RMG, he was transferred to Lapu-Lapu City police early this year to head the Swat, one of the city’s highly trained units.
The Swat team’s equipment, from vehicles to firearms, down to the boots every operative wears, are funded by the City Government.
In exchange, Pineda said, “They can expect more from us.”
(August 15, 2004 issue)
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