MANILA, Philippines -- Uniformed personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), which is under the Department of Transportation and Communication, may now avail of medical services from facilities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) under an agreement between the two institutions.

AFP chief of staff General Alexander Yano and PCG commandant Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo signed the memorandum of agreement (MOA) and its implementing guidelines, rules and regulations (IGRR) at Camp Aguinaldo on Tuesday.

?As part of the uniformed community, our brethren in the Coast Guard naturally deserve the same access to quality medical and health care as our soldiers do. Thus, this cooperative agreement between the AFP and PCG intends to provide the PCG uniformed personnel the necessary accommodation to any AFP medical treatment facility,? Yano said in his speech after the official signing.

Tamayo, for his part, said the MOA signing is a ?big boost" to the morale and welfare of PCG personnel.

?It has been our long standing quest in the PCG to develop a modest facility and system that can provide for the health needs of PCG personnel and their dependents,? Tamayo said in his speech.

The MOA gives PCG uniformed personnel access to AFP medical facilities whenever they need services not available in other hospitals.

Services available include electrocardiogram (ECG), computed tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, X-ray, medical operations and hospital confinements.

In return, the PCG has agreed to provide medical assistance and consultation to all AFP personnel through its medical service personnel in areas where there are no military treatment facilities.

The AFP-PCG Liaison Committee shall monitor the implementation of the MOA through the joint IGRR, the AFP said.