TOURIST COPS. Policemen in Northern Samar attending a Tourist-oriented Police for Community Order and Protection training in Catarman town in this Nov. 4, 2021 photo. The training is to raise the capability of policemen to safeguard tourists in preparation for the reopening of tourism destinations after year-long closure. (Photo courtesy of Northern Samar provincial government)
TACLOBAN CITY – Northern Samar province has trained 24 police officers to raise their capability to safeguard visitors in preparation for the reopening of tourist destinations after year-long closure.
Each of the 24 towns in the province sent a police officer to be trained for Tourist-oriented Police for Community Order and Protection (TOPCOP), a four-day capability building that started on Nov. 3.
“The training aims to provide basic tourism concepts and overview to the PNP (Philippine National Police) personnel who will serve as tourist police in the province. It hopes to teach tourist police key values to become effective tourism front-liners,” Northern Samar provincial information officer Jhon Allen Berbon said in an interview on Friday.
The initiative, which is in partnership with the Department of Tourism (DOT), is part of the provincial government’s efforts to “reinvigorate the tourism industry which went through a lull during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
As a protocol, only vaccinated policemen were allowed to participate in the training.
They were also asked to undergo antigen tests and have to stay within the hotel premises during the training, Berbon added.
The trained tourist policemen will also provide added security operations for local tourists and establishments and respond to tourist-related security and safety issues.
The DOT trains police personnel on the basic principles of tourist safety and the Filipino brand of service. The modules also include lessons on tourism awareness. (PNA)
