Representatives of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the US Legal Attaché of the US Embassy in Manila have asked Negros Oriental security officials to review their security plans to include lessons learned from various actual scenarios.
Legal Attaché Lamont Siller and Assistant Legal Attaché Steven Merrill addressed about 100 participants from law enforcement agencies and the civilian sector in a one-day seminar on international terrorism and crisis management on Thursday at the Negros Oriental Convention Center.
“Most security personnel here are looking at the usual procedure,” said Task Force Leon Kilat Executive Director Bimbo Miraflor, pointing out that many are not keeping an eye, nor are aware of the new methods being employed by the terrorists.
The FBI lecturers cited the incident in Inabanga, Bohol where members of the extremist Maute Group had penetrated Central Visayas via the sea from Mindanao.
“With the help of the FBI, we will have a solid ground to develop some initiatives,” to further strengthen the Province’s security contingency plan and disaster response, Miraflor said.
The Joint Task Force on Security (codenamed Leon Kilat) of Negros Oriental will revisit and improve its structure and security plan following learning experiences gleaned from Thursday’s seminar on terrorism and crisis management by the FBI.
Miraflor also stressed the task force will deliberate on ways to “fill in some gaps after assessing the roles and responsibilities of Leon Kilat, as far as the maintenance of peace and order”.
During a series of modules presented in the seminar, the FBI officials stressed that some novelties need to be addressed by law enforcement agencies, which Task Force Executive Director Miraflor acknowledged.
The FBI discussed and shared multiple scenarios on terrorist attacks and crisis management and response.
They highlighted the need for cooperation between and among law enforcement agencies and the private sector.
The US Embassy officials also assured their counterparts here on law enforcement of their support and cooperation on intelligence-gathering and investigation, of interest to both countries.
In an interview, Jose Ramon del Prado, president of the Negros Oriental Hotel, Resorts & Restaurants Association, welcomed the FBI seminar and the formation of a joint task force on security but said this is “not a one-stop, one -shop, after which everything will be okay”.
He said the terror threat in Negros Oriental is a “sensitive issue” for hotels, resorts and restaurants, and that even a single negative incident alone “can throw off most of the gains we’ve had in the past few years”.
The goal is to maintain peace because tourism is a very sensitive industry, he said.
“We are now a tourist destination and we want to keep it that way,” he added. (With reports from Judy Flores Partlow/PNA)