The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) should make it a prerequisite for its 4,000 new recruits to undergo a crash course on the newly-enacted Philippine Maritime Zones Act or Republic Act No. 12064, Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino said.
Tolentino said doing so would help these new coast guard personnel get a deeper understanding of the current issues amid the ongoing maritime dispute and threats in the West Philippine Sea.
“Beyond basic training and physical formations, the PCG’s new recruits must undergo a crash course on the Philippine Maritime Zones Act,” said Tolentino.
Tolentino is the principal author of the Maritime Zones law, and is also the chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones.
“This would help them better understand the metes and bounds of our territorial sea, international waters, exclusive economic zone, and so on,” the senator stressed.
“These are basic knowledge, but very important, especially when there are challenges (to foreign ships entering the WPS),” he pointed out.
PCG’s spokesperson Commodore Algier Ricafrente, who was interviewed on the senator's radio program, acknowledged Tolentino’s request.
Ricafrente told Tolentino that the 4,000 new recruits, who would be deployed to various regional offices, have bolstered the PCG’s personnel, which currently stands at 35,000.
The coast guard official also welcomed the Senate’s recent passage of House Bill No. 10841, which sets a three-year fixed term for the PCG Commandant.
The PCG official said the measure would allow the PCG leadership to carry out its plans and programs for the long term, which would benefit maritime safety and security.
Tolentino, a co-author of the measure, agreed with Ricafrente, pointing out that the PCG also responds during disasters, such as oil spills, and helps ensure the safety and livelihood of fisherfolk and sea travelers, apart from safeguarding the country’s territory from foreign ship incursions.