Cordilleran cops, four from Kalinga, are top 25 in International SWAT Challenge 2025

Tabuk City, Kalinga – Eight Cordilleran cops, four of them from Kalinga, showcased their tactical brilliance and shined on the international stage, and were included in the list of top 25 out of a hundred participating teams.

These Special Action Force officers who are currently deployed at the Rapid Deployment Battalion at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City were sent as the official entry of the Philippines in the 2025 UAE SWAT Challenge held in Dubai on February 1 – 5.

The UAE SWAT Challenge is an annual event which invites elite tactical units all over the world to showcase their outstanding tactical skills, impeccable coordination, precision, and teamwork as they overcome five grueling challenges in five days. The 2025 edition of the said competition was attended by 103 competing teams from 46 countries.

The Philippine delegation for this year’s competition include PLt Douglas Napiloy (team leader) who is from Ifugao; PMSgt Rickson Saggut of Tinglayan, Kalinga; PCpl Bruceley Balao-as of Balbalan; Pat John Brendan Gammong, Pasil; Pat Kevin Quezon, Tinglayan; PCpl Jerome Gacayen, Sadangga, Mountain Province; PCpl Alexis Bismonte, Bauko; and PCpl Sylvester Banguigui of Mountain Province. They were coached by PSMS Jonathan Accad who hailed from Tinglayan.

Amid intense time constraints, these Cordilleran police officers displayed their physical prowess, tactical strategies, and unbreakable teamwork, leading them to climb the ranks up to the top 25.

Balao-as, one of the members, told GURU Press Cordillera that they were qualified to join the competition after winning the 2024 SAF Challenge in the Philippines. He added that among their preparations in the recently-concluded UAE SWAT Challenge included rigorous training to condition themselves physically for the event.

The cop further shared they are now preparing for another international contest in Jordan this year.