Heightened security measures in the port of Tagbilaran City is now in place with the use of highly trained police dogs known as “K9s” to augment the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and law enforcement personnel manning checkpoints in the busiest port in the province.

This will also be implemented at the Tagbilaran City Airport momentarily by airport police.

The deployment of K9s came as part of the security measures ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte after placing the country in a state of national emergency on account of lawless violence in Mindanao.

Lieutenant Commander Benjie Quinisio, Station Commander of the PCG, Tagbilaran Station told The Chronicle that port security and increased coast guard visibility off the shores in Bohol are now in place in compliance with Presidential Proclamation (PP) no. 55 issued on September 4, 2016.

PP no. 55 commands the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) among others to “prevent lawless violence from spreading and escalating elsewhere with due regard to fundamental and civil political rights.”

The two Belgian Malinois police dog breeds are trained to detect odors and locate explosives, improvised explosive devices (IED’s) similar to explosives used in the Davao City bombing and narcotics.

A passenger assistance centers manned by the PCG has been established in the port terminal to adequately respond to passenger needs during emergencies.

Bohol which has several piers is eyed to be a possible entry point of lawless elements especially during night trips where security is observed to be lax due to lack of night shift personnel. With the intensified campaign against drugs, these sniffing dogs will be of great help in detecting drugs brought into the province.

Fourteen people lost their lives and more than sixty were injured when a bomb blew up at around 10PM in the crowded Roxas night market in Roxas Avenue, Davao City near the Ateneo de Davao University on Saturday, September 2, 2016.