DESPITE no threats to the Davao International Airport’s (DIA) safety and security, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines-Davao (CAAP-Davao) said that they tightened security in preparation for the 39th Kadayawan Festival.
Rex Obcena, manager of Caap-Davao, disclosed in a radio interview on GMA Super Radyo Davao on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, that they did not receive any threats at the DIA during the Kadayawan Festival celebrations, but security has been heightened due to the increased number of passengers.
“We haven’t received any intel report that would raise any alarms dinhi sa atoang [here in our] community,” he said.
“Wala tay na raise na mga alert levels so kaning atoang measures dinhi are all in preparation of the expected influx due to Kadayawan and then katong last week, katong sa IronMan so the same measures are in place but katong medyo nagkahugot na ta because again tong preparations nato,” he continued.
(We have not raised any alert levels, so our measures are all in preparation for the expected influx due to Kadayawan and last week’s IronMan event. The same measures are in place).
Obcena explained that their preparations include not only safety and security measures but also tourism-related arrangements.
He also noted that the number of passengers has increased from the usual 5,000 to 6,000. This increase began around mid-July and has continued to grow as the major events of the festival approach.
At present, safety and security clusters are working together to maintain order at the airport. Some of the security personnel at the airport are from the Philippines Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine National Police (PNP), Task Force-Davao (TF-Davao), Civil Security Unit, Philippines Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and PNP Drug Enforcement Group.
“We have a close coordination with the city LGU particularly sa atong mga city tourism pati atoang mga other police authorities para ang atong ma-augment atoang security dinhi sa Davao (We have a close coordination with the city [Local Government Unit] particularly to the city tourism as well as our other police authorities to augment the security here in Davao),” he said.
In addition to airport security, Obcena mentioned that the newly donated pushcarts have been a significant help for passengers. These pushcarts facilitate easier loading and unloading of luggage and belongings for the departing and arriving passengers. RGP