Coast Guard welcomes P97.65-M lighthouse project

Manila, Philippines -  The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has welcomed the plan of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to construct 33 additional lighthouses.

Lt. Cmdr. Armand Balilo, PCG spokesman, said the P97.65 million allocated for the construction of the lighthouses would help fishermen at sea find their way home during bad weather.

“So if a fisherman experiences an accident or gets lost while at sea, the beacon would be there to give him hope that he is close to the shore. There is also a big possibility that you would see the light from the lighthouse. Before the PCG slogan when it comes to lighthouses was ‘Ilaw mo, Buhay ko,’” Balilo said.

While there are modern navigational gadgets such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) to serve as guide, Balilo said there is still a need to maintain traditional navigation aids such as lighthouses.

“The big ships may have their devices to get positions such as the GPS but the lighthouses are still important and useful. There would be instances when a technology glitch happens and you would have to go back to the basics to get your position and turn to the lighthouse for directions,” he said.

The DOTC recently published one-page advertisements inviting interested parties to participate in the bidding for the P97.65-million lighthouse project.

It intends to construct 33 beacons in different parts of the country: one in Cagayan; five in Aurora and Catanduanes; six in Bataan and Bulacan/Batangas and Rizal; three in Palawan; two in Camarines Sur; 12 in Bohol, Siquijor, Eastern Samar and Leyte; and four in Davao and Surigao.

The DOTC earlier posted an invitation to bid for P246-million Aids To Navigation (ATON) equipment.

PCG commandant Vice Admiral Edmund Tan earlier said there are currently 561 lighthouses in the country, but only 420 are operational and 141 need to undergo repair.

“We have about 76.47 percent operational status of lighthouses. Most of the defects of the lighthouses are batteries and solar panels, some bulbs and structural defects. But these are now being addressed with the support of the DOTC program on ATON for 2012,” Tan said.