More than 800 new recruits of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) were deployed in different parts of the country to help the government in the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
In a statement on Friday, the PCG said a total of 839 trainees under the Coast Guardsman's Course (CGMC) Class 76 - 2019 simultaneously completed their training at its Regional Training Center in Hinoba-an, Negros Occidental on Feb. 1.
"They underwent more than a year of training to prepare them mentally and physically through a military exercise and drill," the PCG said in a statement.
It added that they were also trained in basic soldiery, customs, and traditions of the PCG.
The PCG said the new members also underwent another training for six months on maritime law enforcement, maritime security, maritime safety, maritime search and rescue, and marine environmental protection.
The PCG is part of the Joint Task Force COVID Shield, the implementing arm of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID), on matters pertaining to the enforcement of the quarantine rules.