Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada has filed a bill seeking to modernize the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), whose current assets are not enough to patrol the country’s territorial waters and protect Filipino fishermen against foreign aggressors.
Estrada said given the recent developments in the maritime sector, Estrada said he finds it necessary to modernize the country’s fleet to make it more responsive to emerging sea emergency trends.
The senator cited as an example, the massive oil spill from the sunken oil tanker MT Princess Empress in Oriental Mindoro that has already affected four provinces and the continued incursions and aggressions of the Chinese Coast Guard within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“Imbes na magturuan o magsisihan sa nangyaring pagkalat ng oil slick dulot ng paglubog ng MT Princess Empress, hanapan natin ang solusyon dahil mauulit at mauulit ang mga ganitong aksidente (Instead of finger-pointing on what happened on the oil spill caused by the sinking of the MT Princess Empress, let's find a solution because such accidents will happen again and again),” said Estrada, chairman of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security.
In filing Senate Bill No. 2016 or the proposed Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Modernization Act, Estrada said it is high time that the country’s oldest and only humanitarian armed service be upgraded in terms of logistical support.
“The PCG is vested with powers to perform five major functions of maritime safety, security, search and rescue, law enforcement, and environmental protection,” he said.
“With the colossal task of enforcing regulations in accordance with maritime international conventions, treaties, and national laws within the country’s jurisdiction, surely a ‘fleet’ of merely three offshore patrol vessels would not suffice to carry out their perilous and critical tasks,” he added.
The bill seeks a 15-year modernization program to allow the PCG to significantly upgrade its properties, further expand its capabilities and ensure the fulfillment of its mandate as provided under the laws.
The measure also aims to accelerate the response time of the PCG during search and rescue operations and contribute substantially to securing maritime zones and territorial waters from terrorism, lawlessness, and other threats to national security and territory among many others.
Estrada also proposes a restructuring and streamlining the agency’s units and offices to simplify procedures, professionalization of its human resource, acquisition and upgrade of basic and support facilities for administrative and operational services.
The measure also provides for the procurement of modern and state-of-the art maritime equipment for the PCG.
Estrada said it is imperative that the PCG has a well-maintained vessel interfaced with the latest cutting-edge technology for ease of operation, remotely operated submersibles equipment for deep-sea search, retrieval, and monitoring operations, weapons that are marine environment resistant and designed primarily to disable hostile personnel and equipment, uninterruptible internal communications seamlessly interoperable with other agencies as well as communications with commercial vessels operating within the Philippine maritime zones and territorial waters and other technologically current navigational equipment.
“The country’s EEZ is a maritime expanse larger than our total land area. It is imperative for the government to have an effective Coast Guard organization that can protect and preserve the diverse resources found in our maritime territory and defend the same against intruders, lawless elements, and destructive activities,” the lawmaker said.