IMAGE FROM THE PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD RECRUITMENT PAGE
Are you a jobseeker wanting to join government service and secure the country’s shores? Join the Philippine Coast Guard.
The PCG will begin the recruitment process this month as it looks for 4,000 personnel to beef up its ranks.
Commodore Joel Garcia, PCG officer in charge, encouraged the younger members of the country’s workforce to consider joining their agency.
“Join the PCG to help your country and you will also get a chance to visit other countries for free,” he urged would-be applicants.
This is the biggest hiring in a year so far, with the agency usually hiring only around 500 personnel a year. The agency currently has around 9,000 personnel covering 36,000 kilometers of coastline.
The PCG decided to proceed with its hiring of 4,000 personnel after the Department of Budget and Management approved the recruitment.
The PCG aptitude battery tests will be held on different dates in different Coast Guard district centers until May 28, with the last examination to be held at the PCG headquarters in Manila.
The agency is looking for graduates of maritime courses, engineering courses, computer-related courses, environmental science courses and courses from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
In a post on the PCG recruitment page on Facebook, the PCG added that it is also hiring graduates of courses such as aircraft technician, accountancy, architecture, English, management, political science, mass communication;
Dental laboratory technician, electrical technology, dental X-ray technician, radio radar technician, library science, and secretarial courses with training in stenography.
Garcia stressed that the PCG is facing many challenges, citing the West Philippine Sea, the Benham Rise and the maritime security and piract challenges in the southern Philippines.
For his part, PCG spokesperson Commander Armand Balilo said they will need the additional personnel in light of the new ships and air assets that will be arriving in the coming months.
Garcia added that they are also looking for more than 100 lawyers as he urged passers of the recent bar examinations to apply with their agency.
“We are a law enforcement agency. So as a law enforcement agency, we need lawyers in the PCG,” he said, adding that they have around 25 lawyers in its offices across the country.
Balilo noted they need lawyers to help them file cases when there are violations of environmental laws.
“We have laws on environmental protection and regulation to enforce. We need to be able to file the cases directly instead of going through the police. Like there’s an oil spill, or poaching,” he said.
Applicants should be Filipino citizens, single, 18 to 28 years old, at least 5 feet tall and a college graduate or one who has completed at least 72 units of a course.
Applicants should also be physically and mentally qualified under existing regulations for service in the PCG.