Multi-role response vessel Tubbataha of the Philippine Coast Guard. SCREENGRAB FROM COASTGUARD.GOV.PH
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vowed on Tuesday to boost its capability to enforce law and order in the country’s territorial waters to eradicate criminal activities in the area and ensure border security.
PCG spokesman Capt. Armand Balilo said that the PCG is taking a more active role in the government’s campaign against illegal drugs, especially against drug syndicates that operate offshore drug laboratories and sea vessels that transport illegal narcotics to the country’s ports.
“Hindi lamang land-based, malaki yung tulong ng mga [sea-based] drug [laboratories],” Balilo said.
(It’s not just land-based, sea-based drug laboratories also has significant contribution.)
“Ang direksyon namin ay ‘yung capability build-up namin lalo na sa maritime law enforcement, nais naming maging ganap na law enforcement agency sa karagatan para maipatupad lahat ng regulasyon,” Balilo said in an interview with Radyo Inquirer.
(Our direction is to boost our capability build-up, especially on maritime law enforcement; we want to become a law enforcement agency in charge of the country’s waters to implement the regulations.)
Balilo said the PCG has to implement more than 100 laws to ensure order over the seas.
Balilo explained that the current trend among Southeast Asian countries is to boost their respective coast guards’ capabilities as a tool for national security and development.
And as part of its efforts, the PCG had hired 4,000 more employees in 2017 and plans to hire an additional 5,000 this year, Balilo said. /jpv
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