As one of the front liners in the world-famous beach destination Boracay Island in Aklan’s Malay town, the Philippine National Police (PNP)-Malay sees to it that they can respond not only against criminality but also during health emergencies.

Two of PNP-Malay personnel recently finished a three-week training of “Trauma care first” from the British Embassy, Lt. Col. Jonathan Pablito, Malay PNP chief said.

“Our personnel trained with the British Embassy and we assure that their learning from the training will be cascaded to the rest of the police personnel here in Malay,” he said.

The 360-PNP-Malay force, by the end of 2020, is expected to be capacitated to respond to an emergency, like heart attack, he said.

“We will soon be capacitated and equipped to do resuscitation, which we cannot do in the past,” he said.

The two qualified PNP personnel who underwent the training are registered nurses, Pablito said, and they can effectively train the rest of the PNP force in Malay.

Pablito said the police are among the first to respond to health emergencies, among the beach guards and other disaster officers deployed especially in the beachfront.

“We are deployed for peace and order but rest assured that we will be among those who will respond first when our help is needed,” he said.

The response of the trained personnel will not be solely dedicated to British tourists but to anyone who will be needing assistance.

Other recipients of the training are the Malay’s Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, Philippine Red Cross, Department of Health, employees of Boracay establishments, and volunteers. (PNA)