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Ilocos Norte mulls deploying K-9 units to Laoag airport

Authorities here said they are considering deploying K-9 teams to the newly upgraded Laoag International Airport to strengthen the capabilities of security personnel in the area.

 

Sangguniang Panlalawigan member Gian Crisostomo, chairperson of the Committee on Peace and Order, said Tuesday that a memorandum of agreement between the provincial government of Ilocos Norte and the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Unit 1, led by Col. Arthur A. Salida, was being reviewed for the deployment of K-9 teams to the airport at the soonest.

 

According to Crisostomo, there had been a “surge of airline passengers at the Laoag Airport, which exposes the same to various security risks.”

 

He said the K-9 teams would help maintain peace and order, and strengthen the local government’s capability to secure the public.

 

As stated in the proposed agreement, the provincial government will be responsible for the care and maintenance of the K-9 dogs, such as food, vitamins, medicines, and other expenses necessary for their upkeep.

 

Their handlers will also be given a monthly allowance of PHP2,000 courtesy of the provincial government.

 

Recognizing the continuing threats of terrorism and the proliferation of the illegal drugs trade and the accessibility of Ilocos Norte as a transshipment point – by land, sea, and air – the K-9 dogs, capable of sniffing bombs and narcotics, will help tighten security in the province, according to the Ilocos Norte polic

 

Source: Philippines News Agency