ZAMBOANGA CITY— The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has beefed up security at the local port to ensure the safety of the traveling public in this part of the country.
This came after a powerful bomb explosion that killed two people and injured 37 others, including two soldiers, on Tuesday night in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat.
Lt. Commander Noriel Ramos, Zamboanga Coastguard Station commander, said K9 units have been deployed to assist his personnel in the conduct of inspection of inbound baggage and cargo.
Ramos said out-bound baggage pass through the x-ray security scanner at the passenger terminal buildings. He said onboard inspection before the departure of a vessel is also strictly implemented with the assistance of K9 units.
“We cannot be complacent since the threat is always there and lawless elements are just waiting for the opportune time to strike. That’s why we have to strengthen the security for the safety of the traveling public,” he said.
Ramos called on passengers to cooperate with authorities for their own safety and protection.
“Our port security includes all aspects of it like passenger and cargo inspections, profiling and intelligence gathering against suspected terrorists, explosives and other contraband items in transit using sea crafts,” he said.
The port of Zamboanga serves thousands of passengers daily traveling from and to the nearby province and as far as the Visayas and Luzon. It also serves travelers to Malaysia as a locally-owned shipping firm plies weekly the Zamboanga-Sandakan route. (Teofilo Garcia, Jr/PNA)
