Palawan, Mindanao CIQS councils craft contingency plans for airport, seaport disasters

PUERTO PRINCESA, PALAWAN — Taking a proactive stance towards ensuring the safety of its airport and seaport, member-agencies of the Palawan customs-immigration-quarantine-security (CIQS) council here recently drafted contingency plans which are aimed at addressing untoward incidents like bombings and sea-vessel collision.

The workshop was an integral part of the sustainability of CIQS-related initiatives in their region as well as to prevent disruptions in the flow of the CIQS operations, members of the Palawan CIQS council say.

“Contingency planning should be taken not only in the context of pre-emptive measure but as a proactive process in dealing with hazards,” says Dir. Norma Talosig, Office of the Civil Defense (OCD)-4 Regional Director.

The contingency plans for the Puerto Princesa airport and seaport cited emphasis on ensuring safety and security in both the newly-renovated airport with its critical contribution to Palawan’s economy and tourism, and the seaport which ensures the mobility of goods and people from and to Palawan and the entire country.

“Airport and seaport security is critical and through contingency planning concerned agencies would be able to identify capabilities which can be tapped in case of untoward occurrences,” said Ivan Baterzal, Industrial Security Officer of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA)-Palawan.

He said that coordinative efforts which are being harnessed and strengthened by the CIQS mechanism are also crucial in combating possible threats to these critical infrastructures.

“Through this CIQS mechanism, we are able to identify whom to coordinate and what type of response is needed on a particular incident, as well as the needed CIQS-related information,” he said.

Mindanao CIQS councils in Cagayan de Oro, Davao, General Santos and Zamboanga also underwent contingency planning in order to mobilize effective actions and resources for emergency response as well as generate commitments among concerned parties to coordinate before and when emergency occurs.

Aside from acquiring knowledge and skills in contingency planning, participants were also oriented on the principles of incident command system (ICS), which provides for a single management system for multi-jurisdictional incidents. Participants will also be led into a simulation exercise for better appreciation of the system.

“We must be aware of the challenges to our peace and development efforts particularly in the security aspect, thus it is critical that our airport and seaport groups through the various local CIQS councils be equipped with the necessary planning and implementation skills that will address these security threats,” said Usec. Virgilio Leyretana, Chairman of the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo).

He added that airports and seaports are vital infrastructures which make them prime targets of terrorist activities crippling our transportation and economic activities.

MEDCo, with funding from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), implements the BIMP-EAGA Support Team (BEST) on CIQS Project, which aims to strengthen coordination and partnership among CIQS agencies, provide capacity- building activities to improve delivery of CIQS services at ports, and harmonize CIQS rules, regulations and procedures.

The contingency planning workshop was organized by MEDCo and facilitated by the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD).

To date, MEDCo has facilitated the conduct of various CIQS-related trainings covering various subjects such as Explosives Detection and Threat Management, Intelligence and Surveillance Work-Port Level, Upgrading Human Resources to Combat Transnational Crimes, Aviation Security, Trafficking in Persons, Safe Gun Handling and Marksmanship, Identifying and Handling Dangerous Goods and Illegal Drug Precursors, and the Convention on
International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna. MEDCo