The Office of Transportation Security (OTS) under the Department of Transportation has noted that the Davao City Overland Transport Terminal is “compliant” with its Security Plan with “moderate” recommendations, an official said.
DCOTT Manager Aisa Usop, in an interview with the City Information Office on Monday, said that the audit findings contained positive remarks. The audit was conducted on October 9-13, 2023, to check the implementation of the Security Plan, which is one of the requirements of the Department of Transportation so that a terminal can operate.
“Sa ilang pag audit nag focus sila sa five key areas (In their audit, they focused on five key areas),” Usop said, adding that these are the adequacy of security organization and security responsibilities, the presence of contingency plans, training drills, and exercises, records protection from unauthorized access, and security measures and procedures.
“We are very happy kay the findings of OTS, nag-ingon nga there is an adequate security organization in place at the DCOTT. The audit confirmed that guidelines for handling security incidents such as bombing.. are in place at DCOTT (We are very happy with the findings of OTS that there is an adequate security organization in place at DCOTT. The audit also confirmed that the guidelines for handling security incidents such as bombing.. are in place at DCOTT),” Usop said.
Usop said that the audit confirmed the conduct of periodic security drills and the protection of records and documents from unauthorized access. The auditors, however, gave recommendations on security screening procedures.
“The audit report noted the need to develop a written Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). In other words, we have to put it in writing nga naa gyud, may mga procedures, at least kung naa’y changes naa gyud i-follow in writing. Second, for the security poster messaging, including the dos and don’ts..there is a standard size that we have to follow (The audit report noted the need to develop a written SOP. In other words, we have to put it in writing that we have procedures because if there are
changes what is written may be followed. And second, also for the security posters messaging, including the Dos and Donts..there is a standard size that we have to follow),” Usop said.
“We are very proud to say nga compliant ta naa lang to sa ilahang findings nga kinahanglan ibutang ang SOP and we have to follow the sizes sa atoang signages. Moderate the description, ang meaning of minor kanang pwede nimo ma change..moderate gihatag kay ang recommendations you cannot do that dayon-dayon. But as a whole, ok ang findings sa OTS. We are proud nga nakita pud nila ang best practices nato (We are proud to say that we are compliant and that there is only that finding that we need to place SOP and we need to follow the sizes of our signages. These recommendations are described as “moderate” because if minor, it means that it can easily be changed..moderate recommendations mean that you cannot change that immediately. But as a whole, the findings of OTS are okay. We are proud that they saw our best practices),” Usop said.
Usop said that these recommendations and findings from OTS helped them to remind the men in uniform about the incoming barangay election and Undas.
This coming long weekend, Usop said that the DCOTT management has put in place security measures for the 50,000 to 75,000 thousand passengers a day who will avail of the 1,000-1,500 bus trips.
Usop said that the security plan is crucial because it contains details on how to manage the security implementation within the 1.7-hectare terminal that houses not only buses but also passengers, stakeholders, stalls, porters, and peddlers. CIO
