Coast Guard welcomes modernization bill

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard welcomed the proposal of Sen. Bong Go to modernize the agency and “enhance its capabilities to better protect the Philippines’ maritime domain.”

Senate Bill 2112, authored by Senate committee on national defense vice chairman Go, would “allow the PCG to reduce, if not eradicate, maritime accidents and speed up its response time during search and rescue operations,” according to the PCG.

It would also “strengthen the PCG’s maritime patrol capabilities toward securing the country’s exclusive economic zone.”

The proposal would also “enhance Coast Guard capabilities in addressing environmental threats, such as oil spills, that damage the country’s rich marine resources.”

Go in his bill also “emphasized the need to develop PCG’s training and capacity-building programs to professionalize its workforce and ensure they are well-trained in conducting a wide array of Coast Guard operations.”

PCG commandant Admiral Artemio Abu said Go’s bill “would help the PCG swiftly acquire state-of-the-art assets and resources for maritime law enforcement, maritime security, maritime safety, maritime search and rescue and marine environmental protection.”