SM reviews mall guards; assures shoppers safety

CLARK FREEPORT--- Officials of SM Supermalls, which is operating two giant shopping malls in Pampanga, have assured the public that they are doing everything to ensure the safety of their shoppers while inside their premises.
This statement came in the light of the recent robbery attempt on a store of expensive watches inside the Greenbelt 5 shopping center in Makati City.
Engineer Antolin Paule, senior vice president for Engineering & Design and Security Affairs of SM Supermalls, led a tactical inspection Friday of the more than 300 combined security personnel of SM City Clark and SM City Pampanga.
Paule said the inspection was a routine activity of the SM Management to ensure that the security guards, whose services they acquire from well-known security agencies, constantly adhere to standard operating procedures in safe-keeping the SM malls, its tenants and merchants. Last March, a similar inspection was conducted.
Paule scrutinized the uniform and equipment of each security guard, including their first aid kits attached on their belts.
Roselle Sarmiento, public relations officer of SM City Pampanga, said the inspection was held not because of the Greenbelt 5 incident but because it has been a constant practice of SM’s management.
“This is how we remind our security personnel to maintain discipline for the sake of our mall-goers,” Paule said in an interview.(By Albert B. Lacanlale )