President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (Mark Balmores)
President Marcos has ordered the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to board and inspect all dredgers operating for the reclamation project in Manila Bay.
Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the PCG confirmed that the President directed them to check the vessels' registration and automatic identification system (AIS) transmission.
"The President orders the PCG to board all the dredgers operating in Manila Bay as part of the reclamation project and inspect their vessel registration and AIS transmission," Castro said in a message to reporters on Tuesday, Jan. 6.
Marcos' directive came after Ray Powell, director of maritime intelligence group SeaLight, reported that dredger Kang Ling 539 has transmitted at least 30 different vessel identities while shuttling between Manila Bay and a dredging site in Zambales for more than two years.
The report bared that the dredger has operated under a t least six different flag states, including the Philippines, Sierra Leone, China, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Panama.