Guardians of the coast and sea

MANILA, Philippines - Everyone is called to serve. And the more than 6,000 men and women of the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary (PCGA) choose to save lives and protect the marine environment.

PCGA officials led by their national director Vice Admiral Joseph Dy went to the depressed barangays in Maricaban, Pasay City one Saturday morning to donate two boats that could be used to rescue residents trapped in flooded areas.

“It’s the rainy season once again,” says Dy. “We turned over two utility boats for the two barangays, one boat for each barangay. It is a depressed area that easily gets flooded during rainy days.”

Dy, who has been part of the PCGA for 22 years, says that he used to work with two prominent civic organizations, but it was only when he became an active PCGA member and later official that he found a sense of fufillment.

“It is very fulfilling, especially when you are helping in a disaster or a calamity… It has aroused my interest. It is a totally different civic action that we do at the PCGA,” the 61-year-old vice admiral says.

He explains: “We differ from other civic action groups in terms of areas of operation. As our name PCGA suggests, we are guardians of the coast and the sea. We operate mostly in the coastal communities while the other civic groups stay on land.”

The PCGA serves as a civilian, uniformed unit that acts as a force multiplier in the performance of duties of its government unit counterpart, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

The PCGA is an opportunity to enjoy the best of both worlds – to perform key functions of the PCG such as caring for the marine environment, performing maritime security and conducting search and rescue (SAR) missions as well, and at the same time remain a non-government entity.

Over the years, the PCGA has been lending its people, time and resources to responding to maritime situations. While many non-government organizations are involved in the protection of the marine resources of the country, only few could claim that they take that one step further and are involved in SAR missions.

In August 2012, their technical diver-members were among those who volunteered and used their own equipment to search for former Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo whose plane crashed in waters off Masbate.

They were also at the scene for weeks looking for survivors and retrieving dead bodies when the passenger ship St. Thomas Aquinas collided and sank off Cebu last Aug. 16, 2013.

Using their PCGA boats, they were able to deliver relief goods to the municipality of Loon that became isolated after a powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Bohol in October last year.

One of their members, Robin Sy, who owns a shipping line offered the use of two of his landing craft tank ships to ferry relief goods to the Typhoon Yolanda hit areas and deliver the construction materials of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

The PCGA has gone a long way since its inception in February 1972 with only 200 members. Now, its membership has grown to approximately 6,000. But Dy admits that not all of their members are active. There are businessmen and a few politicians who are preoccupied with their different professions. But they also have members who are ordinary folks and overseas Filipino workers, particularly seafarers who share their expertise in oil spill containment and SAR whenever they are in the country.

Although some of them may not have time to be physically present, they make up by giving financial support or lending their equipment and transportation.

In the PCGA, they have a saying: “If you don’t have the time to share, but have the talent and the treasure to share, you are considered active members.” Dy adds that since there is no mandated retirement age, there are those who continue to show their support by contributing to logistics requirements.

Dy shares an amusing anecdote about the PCGA’s beginnings. In 1972, the PCGA’s original headquarters was at the Manila Yacht Club (MYC) along Roxas Boulevard, just beside the Philippine Navy (PN). At that time the PCG was still a part of the PN.

When Martial Law was declared on Sept. 21, 1972, a curfew was imposed from midnight to 4 a.m. and for the MYC members to be able to stay out at the club even beyond the allowed time, they decided to form the PCGA.

The PCGA members were issued identification cards that indicated their ranks, so that when their vehicles were flagged down, the policemen and the military personnel would even give them a salute!

But more than a ploy to avoid the curfew, the PCGA has proven to be serious and capable to perform its mission and vision. From having only one field team called the 101 Squadron, all MYC members at that time, they now have 12 districts in key locations nationwide.

In fact, Dy, who was elected PCGA national director last May 23, says that they are planning a massive recruitment program.

Their target is to recruit all those living in the coastal areas. “In any disaster, the fisherfolk are the frontliners, they are the first on the scene but they are not properly trained.”

The PCGA hopes to correct this situation by teaching the fisherfolk basic SAR techniques that would include first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). They also hope to distribute equipment to the coastal barangays such as life vests, rope, life rings, flashlights, whistles and light batons.

In guarding the marine environment, they have tapped PCGA Commodore Gerry Reyes, a marine biologist and technical diver, to lead their projects.

With the extreme weather conditions brought about by climate change, the PCGA is also doing its share to mitigate its effects by undertaking projects such as coral reef rehabilitation, mangrove planting and reef enhancement.

Recently there had been reports of sea animals that are washed ashore such as dolphins. The people living in coastal communities are usually the ones who discover them and become the first responders. Sadly, only a few of them know how to deal with these creatures.

“Humans should not touch them because we carry germs that are not compatible with these animals. The first thing they should do is contact the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR). This is why we are developing a training program on how to properly respond to a situation like that,” he adds.

The PCGA has also been actively involved in coastal clean ups.

Also, Dy dreams that they would be able to acquire a rescue vessel that could double as a floating hospital that they could bring to remote islands and hold medical and dental missions.

As for their government counterpart, the PCG could only express its gratitude to the PCGA.

PCG commandant Vice Admiral Rodolfo Isorena says: “I am pleased that the number of PCGA volunteers has flourished over the years. We appreciate their contribution to the Philippine Coast Guard. There had been times when these men and women would leave the comforts of their home to respond to calamities.”

Now that typhoon season is upon us, expect the PCGA volunteers to be at the ready, to respond to the next emergency.