Cops prepare to secure top PHL tourist destinations

08/04/2011 | 12:38 PM

The Philippines' tourist destinations are expected to become more secure because the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) relaunched Tourism Oriented Police for Community Order and Protection (TOP COP) program is already in full swing.

According to the DOT, it has completed the first phase of the TOP COP training courses, benefitting 1,226 police officers nationwide.

“We hope to encourage more tourists to visit the country with this added commitment to their safety and security," Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim said in a news release on the DOT website.

The first phase of the training program covered topics on tourism orientation and basic customer relations, and was conducted from November 2010 to May 2011.

It focused on police assigned in top destinations for tourists and balikbayans, including:

Metro Manila
Cebu
Albay
Baguio City
Bohol
Boracay Island
Cagayan Valley
Davao City
Ilocos Norte
Negros Oriental
Northern Mindanao (Cagayan de Oro and Camiguin)
Puerto Galera
Puerto Princesa City
Zambales

Additional trainings were also held in CARAGA, General Santos City, and Eastern Visayas and with the NAIA Aviation Security Group.

Tourist police have been deployed in Metro Manila, Baguio City, Boracay Island, Bohol, Donsol in Sorsogon, Dumaguete, and Embarcadero in Legaspi. - VVP, GMA News