Personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) have culminated their one-week anti-piracy and anti-terrorism drills in Mindanao on Sunday, June 27.
PCG spokesperson Commodore Armand Balilo said the Coast Guard personnel have practiced and applied their anti-terrorism training off Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Jolo waters, which started on Monday, June 21.
“Nakaisang linggo na po kami and mag-cuculminate na po sila bukas (June 27) at yung ibang contingent po ay babalik na ng Manila. Maganda at napagaaralan po natin yung ating mga doktrina at nai-aapply natin.. kaya tayo nagpapractice kung halimbawa may barko na kikidnapin at tayo ay reresponde (We were there for one week and they will conclude tomorrow (June 27) and the other contingent will return to Manila. It is good that we study our doctrines and we apply them .. for example, if there is a ship that is hijacked and we can easily respond),” Balilo said in an interview over Super Radyo DZBB on Saturday, June 26.
Apart from the maritime exercises, the PCG personnel have delivered relief supplies and coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines in far-flung areas of Tawi-Tawi to inoculate the residents.
“Tayo kasi yung nakakarating doon sa area at nakakapaglagari yung mga barko natin from Zamboanga nakakapunta ng Jolo at Tawi-Tawi maging sa mga remote islands na malapit sa Malaysia. Yung mga barko naman ay equipped with built-in freezer at kaya yung mga temperature na hinihingi nung mga bakuna although hindi lang ganun napakarami ang ma-accommodate (We are the ones who can get there in the area and our ships from Zamboanga can sail to Jolo and Tawi-Tawi, as well as to the remote islands near Malaysia. The ships are equipped with a built-in freezer and so the temperatures required by the vaccines although not that much can be accommodated),” Balilo said.
The PCG spokesperson said the armed service is set to build monitoring and radar stations at the Sibutu Passage, where almost 13,000 international vessels are passing and a series of piracy and kidnapping incidents have transpired in the previous years.
“Ayaw natin magkaroon ng perception ang international community na hindi ligtas dumaan dito sa Pilipinas at kung yan po ang magiging perception ng iba magiging mabigat po sa ating economy lalo na po yung mga barko na nagdedeliver po ng mga goods dito sa ating bayan (We do not want the international community to have a perception that it is not safe to pass through the Philippines and it will affect our economy, especially the ships that deliver goods here in our town),” he added.
Continuous patrol in West PH Sea
Balilo said PCG ships will be continuously patrolling to protect the country’s maritime waters in the West Philippine Sea.
“Nakapatrol po tayo at hindi po tayo umaalis dyan, nagiikot-ikot lang po tayo at minsan lang pag-masama po yung panahon talaga tumatabi po tayo. Medyo maalon po talaga at minsan ay hindi po kakayanin ng mga barko (We are still patrolling and we didn't leave there, we just went around and once there is a bad weather we really stood aside. Sometimes, it's really a bit stormy and our ships can't handle it),” he said.
“Ang guidance po ni PCG Commandant Admiral George Ursabia sa ating mga tao ay yung safety po ng buhay ng ating mga crew, ang pagpapatrol po ay nagpapatuloy pero kung may masamang panahon ay kelangan lumikas po muna (As per the guidance of PCG Commandant Admiral George Ursabia to our people is the safety and the lives of our crew members, the patrol continues but if there is bad weather we have to stood aside first),” he added.