MANILA, Philippines — The two newly acquired patrol vessels of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) that were commissioned yesterday will be used against smuggling, according to Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero.
Guerrro said BRPs Malamawi and Kalanggaman would be deployed in Mindanao and the Visayas.
“Our priority areas... are Mindanao and the Visayas. Luzon is... adequately covered since there has recently been Coast Guard operations against rice smuggling in Mindanao,” Guerrero said.
He said the PCG is also on alert against fuel smuggling in Subic and Batangas as well as sugar, illegal drugs and cigarette smuggling in other parts of Luzon.
The PCG recently acquired four patrol boats from France, but only three of them, including the BRP Panglao which had been earlier commissioned, would be jointly operated by the PCG and the BOC.
PCG commandant Admiral Elson Hermogino said the BRP Boracay along with an offshore patrol vessel, which is expected to arrive also from France in September, would remain under the control of the PCG.
“These four patrol boats will be the new face of the PCG’s multi-purpose fast craft… They are agile and sturdy and perfect for patrolling our maritime boundaries as well as the narrow straits... of the archipelago,” Hermogino said.