MANILA, Philippines – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is now sending more agents to train with experts from the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
“We are sending more NBI agents to the training conferences and in the years to come. More initiatives will be given to use,” said NBI Director Magtanggol Gatdula, during an interview with reporters at the FBI National Academy Associates (FBINAA) 14th Asia-Pacific Training Conference 2011, held at the Sofitel Hotel, Pasay City.
Gatdula is the president of the FBINAA Asia Pacific Chapter.
He said they will have more openness in their request for trainings for the NBI agents and Philippines National Police officers.
The NBI director believed this will lead to more cooperation as he cited the need for it.
Gatdula said partnership is the key for security so that all our communities will be secured, our families, and our governments.
Participants to the 6-day FBINAA 14th Asia Pacific Chapter, which opened Monday, came from 23 countries including Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, New Zealand, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timore Leste and the United States of America.
Gatdula noted that the country’s law enforcers are always on alert and have been sharing information with our neighboring countries, particularly with Indonesia and Malaysia.
“We have been doing so many things. Thanks to the information given by our counterparts from the United States. The basic thing to do is sharing of information. We will have some communications with them. Plus with the formal ones we are doing with our embassies,” he said.
Gatdula said the NBI is continuously exchanging information with the FBI because combating terrorism is not a one day affair, and it is a long process.
He said the NBI is also continuously training and sending people to the different areas.
“We really intend to curb this menace. But you know, we really need more support and more access to information,” he said.
Through the training conference, Gatdula said participants hope to achieve the common shared advocacy of achieving global peace and security.
He pointed out that enforcing the rule of law, eradicating the threats to human security and promoting regional harmony calls for a collective responsibility of all law enforcement agencies.
He said the training conference convene year after year because of the need to heed the call for a new consensus to achieve for everyone the freedom from fear.
“Despite progress in many places, we continue to absorb the toll of transnational fears, such as terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, transnational crime, trafficking of women and children, drug trafficking, organized crime empowered by new technologies and the fragility of stakes. The security challenge now transcends international war,” Gatdula said.
He said the retrainers enabled the participants not only to be better acquainted but also to share our views and to voice concerns to develop strategies for cooperation.
- By Sandy Araneta
