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Tulfo dissects sea ports security: Sen. Raffy Tulfo, chairperson of the Committee on Public Services, presides over the third public hearing, Thursday, April 10, 2025, on several measures seeking to legislate the rights and welfare of land, air, and sea transport commuters. Tulfo said he personally visited sea port and air port terminals in the country and found several concerns that need to be addressed immediately. “And these are all for the safety and convenience of the riding public. We have so many good policies, good procedures in place, even good operating procedures in place. But the problem is it’s not being implemented, so it becomes useless,” the senator said. He cited the security situation in sea ports on roll-on, roll-off (RORO) vessels, which transport both passengers and commodities. RORO ships are particularly designed to transport vehicles like cars, trucks, trailers, and other wheeled cargo. Tulfo pointed out that these vehicles could be used to transport to other parts of the country contraband such as illegal drugs, explosives and even carnapped vehicles undetected. Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) officials said the agency is coordinating with other government officials to avoid having contrabands that could be transported through vehicles boarding RORO vessels. They said canine dogs and security personnel are also deployed at terminals to intercept contrabands and that seaport interdiction units to intercept transportation of contraband are continuously reviewed and enhanced. “Your interdiction unit is good. I'm not saying it's bad. It's good. We need them. But the problem is we have to equip them with proper technology to enhance their expertise to intercept contraband,” Tulfo stressed. (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)