Be ready to defend coastlines, citizens, PCG told

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos reminded the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to be prepared to defend not only the country’s coastlines but also its citizens, noting that its mission has become more “intense” due to recent incidents that transpired in the West Philippine Sea.

Speaking at the oath-taking of promoted PCG officials yesterday, Marcos noted that while the PCG’s main roles are search and rescue and patrolling maritime boundaries, many duties that once belonged to the Philippine Navy have already been transferred to coast guardsmen.

“The reason for this is very simple. We do that, so that we will not raise the tensions by putting in units and assets of the Philippine military into the area. And because we are saying that these are not military vessels, they are Coast Guard,” Marcos said.

“But as many of the incidents have started to show over the past few years, that mission has become more, shall we say, intense. Now you are expected to defend not only the coastline, but to defend our nationals,” he added.

There have been numerous reports of tense incidents in the South China Sea, including the driving away of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese ship near Ayungin Shoal this month.

The PCG is investigating the incident, which happened just days after Marcos made a state visit to China.

Beijing claims historic rights over virtually the entire South China Sea but this is being disputed by the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan.

“We must guard ourselves, we must be ready and aware and industrious in the work that we do to make sure that we do not have any untoward incidents, that we do not have any mistakes, we do not have any misunderstandings that might cause the problem to escalate out of our control,” Marcos said, adding that he is confident that PCG officials know how to fulfill their mission.

Marcos said his administration has continued to upgrade the PCG’s capabilities because of its very important mission.

“This is something that is critical to the safety of the citizens of the Philippines. It is critical in the defense of the Republic. It is critical to the defense of our territory,” the President said.

Fifteen newly promoted PCG officers took their oath before the President, among them Commodores Christopher Meniado, Dominador Senador III, Vincent Bingbong Fiesta, Fideles Sallidao, Romeo Pulido Jr., Rejard Marfe, Geoffrey Espaldon, Prudencio Patricio Jr., Jay Tristan Tarriela, Fedelyn Santos and Alexis Calderon.

AFP motivated

High public satisfaction in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is certain to motivate officers and personnel of the military, Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said yesterday.??

In a statement, Galvez led the Department of National Defense in welcoming the AFP’s +76 net score for December 2022 – an increase in its public satisfaction rating from +67 in December 2021.

“This show of trust and confidence will surely motivate our men and women in the AFP even more to continue fulfilling their duties as our nation’s defenders,” Galvez said.

“Amid the complex challenges to our national security, the AFP continues to rise to the occasion and serve the people with integrity, strength, and patriotism,” he added.

The survey also showed that the AFP is maintaining high confidence scores in addressing internal and external threats to the country, he said.??

Pamalakaya rejects ‘Balikatan’

In a separate development, fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) is opposed to the upcoming Balikatan military exercises between the Philippines and the United States, saying it may heighten tensions with China in the West Philippine Sea.

“Our position remains the same against the military exercises between the Philippines and US. The Ph-US war games will occur amid China’s aggression in our territorial waters,” Pamalakaya national chairperson Fernando Hicap said yesterday.

“This Balikatan could only heighten the tension and consequently trigger China to become more aggressive against Filipino fishers in the West Philippine Sea. In the end, the Filipinos and our territory could be trapped in the middle of these two conflicting superpowers (US and China),” Hicap added.

Troops from the AFP and their US counterparts are set to hold the next Balikatan military exercises in Ilocos Norte, home province of President Marcos, on April 24-27.

The war games, which would involve at least 16,000 American and Filipino troops, are the biggest Balikatan exercises to take place since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020.

“We don’t believe that the military exercises are for the protection of US allies. We see this as warmongering and a part of the US strategy to encircle China with military forces in what they call ‘first-island chain,’ which includes the Philippines,” Hicap said.

“Thus, militant fishers won’t allow the US to take advantage of the sea row just to intensify their military intervention in the country. Similar to China, the US is also a threat to our sovereignty,” he added. – Ralph Edwin Villanueva, Elizabeth Marcelo