BY JEN BAYLON
ILOILO – Evaluators from the Police Regional Office 6’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Canine Unit (RECU-6) held a capabilities assessment of various K9 units recently.
Attended by K9 handlers and dogs from the city and province of Iloilo, Guimaras and Antique, the primary focus was demonstrating the K9 units’ ability to dispose of hazardous materials, including improvised explosive devices, safely.
It also aimed to assess which canines are still operationally capable of deployment during the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections and which have the potential to undergo six months of comprehensive training to become fully functional police service dogs or K9 dogs.
The activity was led by Major Esteban Baylon III, officer-in-charge of RECU-6, together with Master Sergeant Emmanuel Santos Castro, Lieutenant Colonel Jojo Tabaloc and Lieutenant Reman Benobo.
“This is part of our efforts to maintain peace and order during the election and other activities,” said Baylon on Wednesday, Oct. 25, after the assessment at the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) in Santa Barbara, Iloilo.
Aside from the upcoming elections, the assessment also aimed to have more well-trained K9 units ready for search and rescue operations and other essential tasks during this year’s observance of the All Souls’ and All Saints’ days and the Christmas and New Year celebrations, as well as the world-class Dinagyang Festival in January 2024.
“The goal of our team is to develop at least two K9 units per municipality and train them. It takes six months of training for both the handler and the dog to ensure smooth operations and effective K9 deployment,” said Castro.
Furthermore, Tabaloc disclosed plans for the K9 unit multiplier program.
“Discussions have taken place with trainers from Camp Crame in Quezon City to organize training sessions for K9 explosive detection dogs and narcotic detection dogs,” he said./PN
