The Philippine National Police (PNP) will continue providing continuous seminars and training programs to strengthen officers’ investigative and operational capabilities against evolving security threats, PNP chief Police General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said Friday.

Nartatez made the commitment during the closing ceremony of the Improvised Explosive Device Threat and Security Symposium held in Malay, Aklan, for officers assigned to bomb threat response and investigation.

“The nature of threats and peace and order terrain are continuously evolving,” Nartatez said. “We have to innovate and we have to continuously upgrade our knowledge and skills to ensure that we will be able to properly respond.”

“When it comes to peace and order and security, the Philippine National Police should always be updated and not left behind,” he added.

The symposium follows a similar training program organized in March 2026 in Bohol by the Southeast Asian International Command in partnership with the Australian Federal Police.

For the Malay event, the PNP expanded participation to reach bomb disposal, K-9 units, and police investigators down to the regional and provincial levels.

Nartatez cited that the program addressed the latest methods in identifying, analyzing, and investigating various types of bomb threats to build stronger legal cases and support prosecution.

It also highlighted the value of agency coordination and knowledge sharing.

“This activity is intended to equip our personnel with all the necessary skills to properly respond in the interest of peace and order and public safety,” Nartatez said.

“Through this program, we are able to identify both our strong and weak points in order to further enhance our capability and equipage for various IED threats anytime and anywhere in the country,” he added.

Nartatez added that the PNP is actively pursuing similar training programs, both locally and internationally, across other operational and specialized fields.