PNP receives EOD equipment from US Gov’t

From the Philippine Information Agency (Nov 12): PNP receives EOD equipment from US Gov’t

The Philippine National Police (PNP) recently received Explosives and Ordnance Disposal (EOD) equipment from the United States Department of State Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program.

PNP Chief Director General Ricardo C. Marquez received the equipment through the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Office of Anti-terrorism Assistance (DS/ATA) led by Mr. Thomas McDonough, Regional Security Officer of US Embassy.

The EOD equipment, worth $1.7 million USD, will assist the PNP in countering the huge number of grenade/explosive and improvised explosive device (IED) incidents.

The equipment donation includes six Ford Ranger pickup trucks, three EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) robots, EOD suits, and other explosive counter measures support equipment.

According to PNP, the DS/ATA has been providing training and equipment to the Philippine government since 1986, particularly to the police force to help develop its capacity to prevent, interdict, counter and investigate terrorist activity, particularly in restive regions of Mindanao and in the Metro Manila area.

In early 2007, DS/ATA started assisting the PNP by establishing an EOD and K-9 facility for the National Capital Region Police Office. Built with funding from the DS/ATA Program, the said facilities include a kennel, veterinary clinic and billets for an EOD “K-9 unit”, six bomb detector dogs and PNP K-9 handlers specially trained to detect explosives devices.

http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/241447237739/pnp-receives-eod-equipment-from-us-gov-t