The World Customs Organization (WCO) Security Project for South East Asia and the Pacific Islands conducted its first WCO Sub-Regional Train-the-Trainer Workshop on Programme Global Shield (PGS) in Pasay City, the Philippines, from 13 to 22 April 2018. The event was co-hosted by the WCO and the Philippines Bureau of Customs (BOC).
The WCO Security Project, funded by the Government of Japan, aims to support Member administrations in South East Asia and surrounding countries in their efforts to enhance security against the threat of terrorist attacks.
The objective of the workshop was to provide Customs officers with the knowledge and skills to train other officers in the detection and handling of precursor chemicals and other components commonly used by terrorist groups in manufacturing Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). The workshop has increased the pool of PGS trainers available in the region for further training at the National and Regional level. It has also raised awareness amongst Customs administrations of the threat posed by IEDs and what can be done to better control illicit trafficking of chemical precursors and components used to manufacture them.
Participants in the workshop came from the Customs Administrations of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. Representatives from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) also participated in the event.