BAGUIO CITY – The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio (HRAB) hosted a seminar on global terrorism and radical groups at the Baguio Country Club(BCC) last June 16 to promote awareness and prepare hotel and restaurant stakeholders against threats..
The seminar with the theme, “Awareness is the best deterrence” had three learning sessions. These were on Islamic Radicalization by Turkish Terrorism expert Dr. Cihangir Arslan; Global Terrorism by former FBI Legal Attaché of the US Embassy in the Philippines, Dr. Stephen Cutler; and on Police Counter Terrorism by Police Chief Supt. Rene Pamuspusan.
HRAB President and BCC General Manager Anthony De Leon stressed the importance of such awareness activity for the hospitality sector especially with what are happening nowadays such as the Resort World Manila incident and the Marawi crisis.
Hotels and restaurant stakeholders must be aware and prepared against any form of threat.They must be responsible for their own safety. They should come up with policies, safety and security procedures tailored in such a way that they can be prepared to address any sort of emergency relative to an active shooting incident or terrorism, De Leon said.
Baguio Country Club media relations officer Andrew Pinero also outlined the importance of such awareness activity considering that Baguio City as a famous tourist destination is also susceptible to terrorist threats. HRAB members, in partnership with law enforcement agencies, are reviewing security plans and measures to protect their property, he informed.
HRAB partnered with the Police Regional Office – Cordillera, Baguio City Police Office and other local law enforcement agencies for the conduct of said activity. /JDP/CCD/J. Caringal – PIA CAR/UP Intern