YEARENDER: PCG tasked to watch over disputed Panatag Shoal

MANILA, Philippines - For the first time in its 111 years, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) was tasked in 2012  to take on a new challenge: to help defend the country’s territorial claim over Panatag Shoal.

The PCG was instructed to send a ship and conduct maritime patrol over the disputed area following a standoff with China.

The PCG’s BRP Pampanga arrived at 10 a.m. on April 12, and kept the country’s presence in Panatag Shoal for the next 61 days.

The BRP Pampanga alternated with two other PCG ships, BRP EDSA and BRP Corregidor. A monitoring, control and surveillance vessel jointly operated by the PCG and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources assisted them in the mission.

The strategic assignment highlighted the limitations of the PCG’s resources as well as its personnel. Our vessels were no match against the number, size and equipment of the vessels of China, but the PCG maintained its presence to protect the country’s sovereignty. The PCG leadership had to devise an emotional and psychological support system for its personnel to help them cope with the pressures of the job.

The ships have since been pulled out but the PCG said they are just waiting for further instructions from President Aquino. The administration has maintained its position that the lagoon, which is 124 nautical miles from the nearest point of Zambales,  is well within the country’s exclusive economic zone.

Hands full

The PCG also had its hands full this year with maritime accidents.

When the Piper Seneca plane that carried former Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo crashed into the waters off Masbate, PCG men were the first to arrive to help in the search for crash victims.

Apart from divers, the PCG’s medical teams and air assets were also deployed in the area.

Even after the bodies were recovered, the PCG stayed behind to locate the plane wreckage.

During typhoon “Gener” last July, the PCG responded to at least 15 almost simultaneous maritime accidents.

Last July 30, the PCG’s helicopter searched for two missing barge security guards – Jemeterio Suello and Alexander Daan – who were found drifting in the waters of Cavite. A fisherman was also rescued.

The PCG also took on the role of a food delivery service when it brought supplies to the 43 passengers and crew of M/V Super Shuttle Ferry. The vessel, which was anchored in Manila Bay for four days, could not dock at the Eva Macapagal Terminal due to bad weather.

The PCG’s search and rescue team also responded to a distress call of seven Korean nationals on board motor tugboat M/T Kosco 202, which drifted at sea.

The PCG rescued eight elementary teachers in Leyte when their boat capsized on their way to school last August.

At the height of the southwest monsoon, the PCG helped reach people trapped by floods in their homes in Metro Manila.

The PCG also continues to provide security to the Malampaya power project in Palawan.

New vessels, equipment

The Aquino administration is reportedly planning to increase the agency’s fleet next year to help them cope with the rigors of the job. About 1,000 additional personnel will be needed to man these vessels.

The Department of Transportation and Communications has allocated P521 million for the acquisition of vessels and rescue equipment, including 300 aluminum V-shaped hull boats, 81 units of rigid-hull inflatable boats, 90 rubber boats, 15 trucks and six jet skis.

A P97.65-million lighthouse project, involving the construction of 33 beacons in different parts of the country, is also underway.