DAVAO CITY – Female passengers who are wearing hijab or robe-like dresses will undergo strict inspection at checkpoint stations in Davao City, Task Force Davao (TFD) said on Tuesday.
The tighter security inspection is part of an effort to strengthen the security measures in the city following the Sept. 8 blast in Indanan, Sulu which involved a female suicide bomber wearing a hijab.
At checkpoint stations, passengers are required to individually pass through a walkthrough scanner while their luggage will go through an X-ray scanner.
The TFD also put up a curtained cubicle to inspect females, especially those who are wearing robe-like dresses, hijab or Abaya Anjou like Muslim women.
Appointed female soldiers will be the ones to conduct body inspections on Muslim women in respect to their culture and traditions.
“Yung ating mga inspection cubicles ay at least to protect their privacy so we encourage them to wear pa rin kung kailangan nila, hindi natin pinagbabawalan yun na magsuot (ng hijab). They don’t have to worry,” TFD commander Lt. Col. Consolito Yecla told UNTV News in a phone interview.
“Actually, we are thinking on how to ensure na di talaga ma-violate ang kanilang privacy kaya nagkaroon ng mga inspection cubicle,” he added.
Yecla said the inspection in a cubicle for women is also a way to prevent any threat groups or individuals from entering the city.
This system has already been implemented at checkpoint areas in Davao City Overland Transport Terminal and Barangay Sirawan in Toril District.
This inspection system is the latest to be implemented by local authorities in Davao City.
Other city ordinances relating to security include the “no backpack policy” and the ban of non-transparent water containers in public places.
“We will be adopting additional measures to augment our present strategy to ensure that our security measure will really be up to date,” Davao City Police Office director Col. Alexander Tagum.
The TFD likewise urged the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious persons or things to prevent any untoward incidents. RRD (with details from Correspondent Hazel Fuerzas)
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