People urged to help promote a safer city

THE Davao City Police Office's Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (Satu) urged citizens to cooperate with them for a safer Davao.

The tendency of people to mill around scenes of terror attacks is in fact getting in the way of anti-terrorist operations.

"They should not gather around the scene because it is dangerous and it will do more harm than good," Senior Inspector Jay Dema-ala, Satu chief.

Dema-ala said that a lot of kibitzers refuse to be shooed off and even get angry when the police try to cordon off an area.

"Help us protect you, ang ubang tao dili masita, kung badlungon, sila pay masuko ug kami pa ang ginapagawas na dautan, walang cooperation ang tao (A lot of people refuse to be reprimanded and when they are, they get angry, even making it appear that we are the ones who are in the wrong. They refuse to cooperate)," he said.

Dema-ala said that what kibitzers do not know is that terror attacks usual come in more than just one and thus the safe distance is at least 300 feet from a blast side.

Terrorists usually set up at least two bombs that will explode one after the other. The first will be to gather the crowd, the second to inflict greater casualty.

To address the wrong behavior of kibitzers, Dema-ala said they have conducted several bomb awareness lectures and seminars for the public.

Discussed during the seminars are tips how to identify suspicious baggage, what to do with suspicious objects, and who to contact for bomb emergency response.

The Satu chief said they are hoping to resume their seminars after the upcoming Kadayawan festival.

In June alone, Satu had already conducted 14 paneling and clearing operations in Davao City.

"We have checked suspicious baggage and so far they were all negative for explosives," Dema-ala said.

As of date, eight cases of suspicious items found around the city turned out negative for explosives. (RBB)

Trending

No stories found.

Just in

No stories found.

Branded Content

No stories found.
SunStar Publishing Inc.
www.sunstar.com.ph