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Monday, August 15, 2005
Land Bank seeks security training
By Lovey Lady Villanueva
Sun.Star correspondent
LAND Bank of the Philippines (LBP) branches all over the country are now observing stricter security measures following the recent robbery of its branch in Bogo town, Cebu.
With the bank losing a total of P20.4 million to robbers in a span of two years, Land Bank Central Visayas head Manuel Jose Mari Infante said they had to act before robbers will strike again.
Regular clients are now issued identification cards to distinguish them from ordinary depositors.
Department heads are no longer allowed to leave the bank until the vaults are closed to ensure security inside the building.
Infante also said Land Bank officials have encouraged its employees to be security conscious by observing the proper procedure in implementing their security measures.
There is also a plan to let the bank’s security guards undergo a quarterly training in firing.
Infante said they came up with such plan after noting the insufficient training of their security guards.
Can’t replace
While he lamented on the lackluster performance of the security guards, Infante said they could not have them replaced because of an existing contract with the security agency.
The security agency, on the other hand, has secured from the court a temporary restraining order against Land Bank.
The bank’s legal department is now working on this so they could look for another security agency.
Infante said it is Land Bank’s Physical Security Office (PSO) in Manila that selects, through bidding, the security agency for the bank’s Central Visayas branches.
After the August 2003 robbery, wherein the bank lost P11 million, Infante said they hoped to change their security agency but to no avail.
“Our guards are so small and could not intimidate robbers to stay away from our bank. They look like they need to eat a lot before they can be physically fit. I don’t trust them at all,” Infante said.
He also said the ammunitions provided by the agency are not enough and the weapons issued could not stand a chance against the weapons of the robbers.
Infante is hoping the PSO will accommodate the firing training of the guards so they will be more skillful in handling weapons in case such incidents happen again.
The training, Infante said, is the most feasible thing to do now since the bank does not have funds to put into place a high-tech security system.
For the meantime, Infante said he is grateful to the team of Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Bureau Chief Pablo Labra II for providing the security and results that they greatly appreciated.
(August 15, 2005 issue)
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