ILOILO City – How rigid is the hiring process of security agencies?
The fatal shooting here on March 31 involving a bank security guard raised serious questions on the vetting process of security agencies in hiring applicants.
While Republic Act S(RA) 5487 (An Act to Regulate the Organization and Operation of Private Detective, Watchmen or Security Guards Agencies) set the qualifications required of applicants, there are far more important considerations.
An applicant must have already undergone rigid and proper training prior to hiring, according to Iloilo 4th District Provincial Board member Domingo Oso who owns Domber and Back-up security.
A security agency has the option to further subject to rigid training the applicant it hired, he added, most especially if the intended assignment is a bank or a mall.
RA 5487 set the qualifications required of applicants. Among these are the following:
* at least a high school graduate
* physically and mentally fit
* not having been dishonorably discharged or separated from the Armed Forces of the Philippines
* not a drug addict
* not a habitual drunkard
As for the training, Oso said security agencies must put emphasis not only on the proper handling of gun and familiarization with relevant laws and regulations, but also on how security guards deal with people or customers, and how they should conduct themselves.
He also stressed the importance of the neuro examination to ensure that the applicant is psychologically stable.
Oso, however, did not discount the possibility that some applicants may be skirting the requirements or that security agencies themselves may be shortcutting the vetting process.
How should security guards deal with arrogant customers?
Oso said they must exercise maximum tolerance and know when to use their guns.
“The gun is not for harming people but for self-defense…if your life is already in imminent danger,” said Oso, a lawyer.
“Pre-licensing training” was how Police Lieutenant Colonel Joem Malong, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6), called the training that applicants for security guard must undergo before they are hired.
She also stressed the importance of “in-service training” for security guards renewing their license or applying to become guard supervisors.
The pre-licensing training course (NC-1) is designed for individuals who have no previous formal security training or License to Exercise Security Profession (LESP) but aspire to be a security guard.
This course introduces the trainee to the security services industry, basic laws and regulations, as well as what it takes to be a security professional.
It is complete with the necessary and correct modules to equip any legal individual to be a qualified security professional, said Malong.
For security guards who want to renew their license, an in-service or retraining course or (NC-2) is a must.
The re-training enhances and updates the security professional’s knowledge of his profession.
The supervisory course, on the other hand, is designed for security professionals, aspiring to be become security officers (SO). This course concentrates on training security professionals into being a leader with modules designated to improve their skills in management, plan taking, decision-making and organization./PN
