2009 a busy year for Coast Guard

MANILA, Philippines - The year 2009 was a busy one for the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) as the agency’s rescue teams were called to respond to emergencies not only in the open sea but also in flooded cities.

PCG commandant Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said many factors, including climate change, are redefining the role of the Coast Guard.

Tamayo said the PCG is no longer just tasked to conduct search and rescue operations at sea but also to assist people distressed in flooded areas.

“Yes, it has been a tiring year for us. We had more work this year. The various maritime incidents and natural calamities, both seaward and landward, tested the PCG’s capability and capacity to respond to incidents,” Tamayo said.

PCG personnel were on the scene to help in the rescue operations of tropical storm “Ondoy” on Sept. 26. Rescue teams had not yet fully recovered when they were called upon a week later to face another challenge, typhoon “Pepeng” which hit northern Luzon.

Daring rescue missions were made at sea, in the air and on land by the maritime agency to help those trapped by rampaging floodwaters, including people that sought refuge on top of trees, hanging from electric posts, and those who were stranded inside their stalled vehicles that were in danger of being swept away by the floods.

The PCG assisted 2,568 people in Metro Manila during the onslaught of Ondoy and 6,110 victims of Pepeng in Northern Luzon.

The typhoons caused devastation, but the disasters also became a showcase of the bayanihan spirit of Filipinos during the search and rescue operations and in the distribution of relief goods to victims.

Tamayo recalled that shipping lines, private companies and organizations actively helped out. They also assisted in the distribution of relief goods along with partners such as World Vision to people who lost their homes in landslides and heavy flooding.

These new challenges became a dire wake-up call, with grim predictions that there would be worse calamities in the coming years and thus, preparations needed to be put in place.

Tamayo said schools and private companies have requested the PCG to conduct training seminars on search and rescue and emergency preparedness.

Various government agencies were also eager to sign memoranda of agreement or forge tie-ups with the agency.

Aside from the calamities on land, the PCG responded to two major maritime mishaps, namely the M/B Commando 6 near Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro and the M/V SuperFerry 9 that sank off Zamboanga peninsula.

The Commando 6 left the Port of Sta. Clara in Batangas at 11 a.m. last May 23 on its way to Puerto Galera when the vessel, owned by Ilagan Shipping Lines Water Transport, reportedly encountered big waves and capsized, killing 12 people.

The PCG identified the casualties as Gregoria Pablico, a staff at Manila City Regional Trial Court Branch 27, her husband Albino, and 10 others namely Lani Asedo, Coraine Beatriz Asedo, Joena Perez, Desiree Teodoro, Daisy Eugenio, Franco Eugenio, Anton Cruz, Tess Cruz, Japanese tourist Hosutani Shugi, and Nina Cads.

Four months later, at 9:30 a.m. of Sept. 6, the Aboitiz Transport Systems Corp.-owned SuperFerry 9 encountered trouble while it was approaching the Zamboanga peninsula.

About 10 people died, more than 900 survived and there are still others who have not been found.

The 7,268-gross ton SuperFerry 9 left General Santos City last Sept. 5 for the two-day voyage to Iloilo. However, at around 3:30 a.m. the next day the vessel tilted 25 degrees toward its starboard or right side.

The passenger-cargo ship sank at 9:30 a.m. or six hours after the people were ordered to abandon ship.

An oddity also occurred this year, which many speculated might be a product of the changing weather patterns attributed to global warming.

About 300 melon-headed dolphins were spotted in Bataan in early February.

“This was very unusual. We are just happy that only a few of them died.” Tamayo compared this to Australia where it was reported that close to 100 dolphins died.

Tamayo said that in this instance, the Philippines had the advantage.

“The PCG was immediately alerted by the presence of the dolphins in Bataan because we had fishermen who go out to sea, while in Australia, they do not have fishermen who could have spotted the dolphins and informed the authorities. The fishermen are natural rescuers and they are a blessing.”

He recalled that fishermen were also the first ones who saw a dead two-year old whale shark floating near the Manila Bay in early morning of Oct. 28.

For the whole year, the agency was instrumental in saving about 165 dolphins and sea turtles stranded in shallow waters.

The PCG noted that there was an increase in the number of reported maritime incidents that mostly involved outrigger wooden-hulled watercraft.

Major reasons included bad weather, rough sea conditions affecting mostly small fishing boats and passenger-carrying motorboats with outriggers.

There were 602 maritime incidents this year compared to 560 cases in 2008.

Tamayo said that the figures do not signify that there were more maritime incidents happening this year.

“This only means that more people are aware now and report to the PCG whenever they encounter trouble while they are in open waters. The reporting system has improved.”

“We need to be pro-active in all the things that we do in monitoring and in reporting incidents. The response system also needs to be enhanced in order to be able to face these additional challenges,” he added.

The PCG also noted a lower number of casualties at only 257. The PCG also conducted 562 search and rescue missions at sea that resulted in the rescue of 4,595 people.

Tamayo also believed that the release of their new Memorandum Circular no. 01-09 or the Guidelines on the Movement of Vessels During Heavy Weather contributed to the decline in the number of deaths.

The agency was also vigilant in performing its maritime security duties. Their sea marshals and K9 units confiscated/recovered explosive materials such as 1,800 pieces of blasting caps with detonating cord, 350 kilos of ammonium nitrate and fragmentation grenade.

They also provided assistance in the alleged confiscation of several crates of firearms with an estimated value of P25 million from the Panamanian-flagship vessel M/V Captain Ufuk and apprehension of several people.

Some 69 foreigners - 24 Indonesians, 14 Taiwanese and 31 Chinese - were reportedly involved in illegal poaching activities, while 191 people were apprehended for illegal fishing of P573,230 worth of products; nine persons were caught illegally transporting forest products worth P5 million; and seven persons were captured for trafficking P680,000 worth of drugs.

The maritime agency was also not remiss in its function of maritime environment conservation. They engaged in mangrove planting in 48 sites nationwide with 292,210 mangrove saplings planted. 

Tamayo said that their thrust would be geared toward promoting the four “Ps” - presence, preparedness, partnership and professionalism.

He also hopes that the PCG would be given additional personnel, more rescue ships and helicopters, and additional equipment to help them cope with the challenges of the future.