The Philippine Navy on Tuesday announced that it can dispatch teams anytime to help search for the bodies of missing “sabungeros” (cockfight enthusiasts) in Taal Lake.
“We are still waiting for the official request for assistance from the Department of Justice (DOJ),” Navy spokesperson Capt. John Percie Alcos said in the latest press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo.
“The Naval Special Operations Command is an elite unit of the Philippine Navy. They can be dispatched anytime, anywhere, any place,” he added.
According to Alcos, three teams composed of four personnel each are normally dispatched for technical diving operations.
Meanwhile, Navy Seal and Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said that despite the possible eruption of the Taal Volcano, there were various ways to check the safety of the area using underwater drones.
The DOJ earlier said it planned to coordinate with the naval unit of the military and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) for the proposed search and retrieval of the victims using its technical divers.
