DAVAO CITY – President Rodrigo Duterte and Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa led Thursday the opening of the three-day National SWAT Challenge in Davao City participated in by 60 teams from the police, army and other law enforcement agencies.
Up for grabs are PHP300,000 for the first winning team; PHP200,000 for the prize; and, P100,000 for the third winning team.
Individual winners will get PHP50,000 each.
The additional cash prize was committed by President Duterte.
But, “What is at stake here is the winning unit’s pride,” said dela Rosa when asked about the prizes.
The participating teams can gain from the competition are strength, stamina, and skills, he pointed out.
This would also bolster friendship, camaraderie, and esprit-de-corps, according to Dela Rosa. After all, he said, they would be facing the same enemy.
He also emphasized on the improvement of their level of competence. According to dela Rosa, the winner would be the team that will be sent to special operations using their skills acquired in training, weaponry and special tactics.
The PNP chief stressed on the competition's significance in the current situation when the country is being challenged by terrorism and orgnaized crime. It is also timely when the PNP is undertaking anti-terrorism and insurgency drills to test the interoperability of the government law enforcement agencies.
Dela Rosa said the SWAT Challenge is highly competitive. It is three-day action-packed competition among the best SWAT units of the PNP all over the country and the highly trained elite tactical units of the army, navy, marines and air force.
The SWAT challenge will be slated from March 1 to 3 at the Team Davao Firing Range along Diversion Road in Maa, this city.
Police Regional Office (PRO) XI spokesperson Chief Inspector Andrea Dela Cerna, said the activity is in line with the PNP's Master Training Action Plan for CY 2018. It is in partnership with Team Davao Inc., Philippine Association of Rifle Enthusiasts and Philippine Shooters and Match Officers Confederation.
Dela Cerna said there would be 10 challenging and action-packed stages with 411rounds of ammunition for pistol and 304 minimum rounds for rifle. The competition includes Pistol/Rifle Marksmanship, Close Quarter Battle, Night Raid, Bus Assault/Terrorist Attack, and Physical Agility/Obstacle Cours.
The SWAT challenge is aimed to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency and the tactical proficiency of the SWAT units. She said the PNP is putting emphasis on upgrading its operational capability to respond to armed situations. (Lilian C. Mellejor/PNA)
