IN THE wake of the alleged suicide bombing in Sulu, Task Force Davao (TFD) is recommending the imposition of a “No Jacket Policy” for guests attending big events to prevent a possible suicide bomber from entering a crowded place.
Under their proposal, TFD commander Colonel Consolito Yecla said a visitor or guest will be requested to remove his or her jacket to ensure that there’s no bomb vest hidden beneath. But after the inspection, the visitors can wear it again inside the activity area.
In a press briefing Wednesday, July 3, 2019, at The Royal Mandaya Hotel, Yecla said this initiative is part of the stricter security measures that they were proposing in the aftermath of the explosion at a military camp in Sitio Tanjung in Kajatian, Indanan.
“In addition to the mandatory body search or non-wearing of jackets when you’re approaching the inspection areas, we will be deploying advance guards probably 20 to 30 meters away from the inspection area. What they will be doing is to check those who are with jackets or with heavy backpacks,” he added.
Yecla said advance guards will check only those wearing a bulky jacket or bringing a heavy backpack.
The Indanan, Sulu bombing on Friday, June 28, killed eight people, including the two alleged suicide bombers. More than 20 were wounded.
“After the Sulu bombing, we reviewed our TTPs (Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures) and one of the improvements in our checkpoint operations or security operations is for the conduct of mandatory body search when you are entering big events. For example diyan sa night market, if you are wearing jackets, we will ensure that you will be inspected properly,” Yecla said.
He has informed the city government about their proposal, which will be on top of the “No Backpack Policy”.
Yecla said they have yet to formally propose this. He emphasized that their proposed “No Jacket Policy” only covers those who are approaching the inspection area of an event.