THE security measures set up for the historic visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe were a success, Davao City Police Office (DCPO) spokesperson Catherine dela Rey said Friday, January 13.
Dela Rey added they only played a supporting role as the lead agency assigned for the security was the Presidential Security Guard (PSG) since Abe is a head of a country. PSG had also coordinated with the Japanese security forces.
There are about 4,000 law enforcers combined from different agencies in the region that deployed to secure the international events in the city such as the Asean Summit, Miss Universe side show, and the just concluded visit of Prime Minister Abe, Dela Rey said.
She added the role of DCPO was only to augment and assign cops at the areas of the events and the route where the convoy traversed.
“So far, it was successful,” Dela Rey said.
When asked about the challenges, she said there were only minor problems that they have encountered particularly with the flow of traffic as they cited illegal parking at the side of major roads. But these were quickly addressed, she added.
Part of their measures, she said, was maximizing their assets and resources through designating police officers for every 100 meter distance from the airport going to Marco Polo Hotel Davao where Abe stayed.
Dela Rey expressed her optimism that with this achievement, the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean) Summit 2017 and Miss Universe activities will also be guarded well.
Public Safety and Security Command Center (PSSCC) Chief Benito de Leon, for his part, said the visit went smoothly as there were no security challenges.
Although he said he is not in the position to provide assurance as PSCC is only a small component of the security plan assembled by the National Organizing Committee, but given the long preparation time and the huge resources assembled he said that the Asean gab will be peaceful amid threats.
“With the manpower, equipment and logistics support, I am confident that there was extraordinary diligence exercised to ensure the safety of the delegates and the success of the activities,” De Leon said.