THE PRESIDENTIAL Security Group (PSG) lacks the required number of bomb sniffing dogs to protect President Rodrigo R. Duterte, as well as his guests, the Commission on Audit (CoA) said in a report.
In an annual report released on July 1, CoA said “the prime duty of the PSG in securing the safety of the President may not be effectively carried out,” noting that 11 military dogs retired in 2016 and another five are expected to retire in 2018.
“In turn, the PSG has only 20 effective bomb dogs as of Dec. 31, 2016, which falls short from the ideal number of 25 bomb dogs necessary in the realization and concretization of its prime duty in protecting the President through effective bomb detection operations during presidential engagements,” the state audit body said.
Under PSG rules, the trained dogs should be retired after eight years of service, and be disposed within three months after retirement through “public auction” and procedures in accordance with the existing rules of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
“The Command did not procure any bomb dog for the last 12 years and almost all of the existing effective bomb dogs were acquired through donation,” the CoA pointed out.
It added that “reasonable” inventory of military dogs should be maintained and its acquisition should be “properly planned and completed on time,” since the training of “K9s necessitates a tedious process before they are utilized in military operations.”
For its part, the PSG said they already requested for the procurement of 11 military working dogs for bomb detection during presidential engagements, but the “proposal was not considered by the Higher Headquarters.”
“Accordingly, the Agency will submit a separate request to Higher Headquarters citing the urgency, importance and detrimental effect it will have on the protective security operation for the President and other Very Very Important Persons (VVIPs),” the PSG management told the state auditors.
The CoA recommended that the PSG fast-track the acquisition of 11 military working dogs and propose to the Budget department the inclusion of a provision for procurement in the agency’s annual budget. — Raynan F. Javil
