PORT AREA, MANILA – Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commandant, Admiral George V Ursabia Jr has directed the deployment of K9 teams to augment the ongoing search and rescue (SAR) operations following a landslide at a mining pit in Toledo City, Cebu yesterday, 21 December 2020. 

Commodore Nelson B Torre, Commander of the Coast Guard K9 Force, initially dispatched one K9 team that specializes in SAR operations, composed of four personnel and two working dogs, to assist the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) that have been working non-stop since 06:00 a.m. today, 22 December 2020.

“We have several SAR K9 teams on standby in Manila for further deployment, if necessary. We are already coordinating the issuance of their health clearances so they may safely and swiftly travel to Cebu right after augmentation request from the CDRRMO,” Commodore Torre said.

Upon coordination by the Coast Guard Station Cebu, additional K9 teams from the Coast Guard District Eastern Visayas are expected to arrive in Toledo City tonight.

The PCG SAR K9 is one of the recent additions in the Coast Guard K9 Detection Specialties. The first deployment of PCG SAR K9 teams occurred on September 2018 to aid rescue operations after a quarry site landslide in Naga City, Cebu that reported 15 casualties and dozens of trapped workers and residents.