The United States has donated $5.5 million worth of training facilities for the Philippine Ciast Guard in Balagtas, Bulacan.
“The Philippine Coast Guard is very thankful to the U.S. government, the U.S. Embassy for the support,” PCG spokesperson Commodore Armando A. Balilo said Thursday, Jan. 20 in a telephone interview with the Manila Bulletin.
“Before we’ve been sending PCG personnel in the U.S. for training, but with this training center, the officers who trained in the U.S. can now teach our young PCG members at the training center," he added.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by United States Embassy Chargé d’ Affaires, ad interim (CDA A.I.) Heather Variava and PCG Deputy Commandant for Operations, CG Vice Admiral Eduardo D. Fabricante.
The highlight of the ceremony was the completion and turnover of the training center's student barracks, and the start of construction of the main classroom and the hands-on laboratory training facility.
The training center will expand the PCG’s capabilities to utilize a workforce adept at maintaining large patrol vessels of up to 94 meters in length to improve the security of Philippine waters, according to Balilo.