MANILA — President Marcos reminded the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to be prepared to defend not only the country’s coastlines but also its citizens, noting that its mission has become more “intense” due to recent incidents that transpired in the West Philippine Sea.
Speaking at the oath-taking of promoted PCG officials yesterday, Marcos noted that while the PCG’s main roles are search and rescue and patrolling maritime boundaries, many duties that once belonged to the Philippine Navy have already been transferred to coast guardsmen.
“The reason for this is very simple. We do that, so that we will not raise the tensions by putting in units and assets of the Philippine military into the area. And because we are saying that these are not military vessels, they are Coast Guard,” Marcos said.
“But as many of the incidents have started to show over the past few years, that mission has become more, shall we say, intense. Now you are expected to defend not only the coastline, but to defend our nationals,” he added.
There have been numerous reports of tense incidents in the South China Sea, including the driving away of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese ship near Ayungin Shoal this month.
The PCG is investigating the incident, which happened just days after Marcos made a state visit to China.
Beijing claims historic rights over virtually the entire South China Sea but this is being disputed by the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan.
“We must guard ourselves, we must be ready and aware and industrious in the work that we do to make sure that we do not have any untoward incidents, that we do not have any mistakes, we do not have any misunderstandings that might cause the problem to escalate out of our control,” Marcos said, adding that he is confident that PCG officials know how to fulfill their mission.
Marcos said his administration has continued to upgrade the PCG’s capabilities because of its very important mission.
“This is something that is critical to the safety of the citizens of the Philippines. It is critical in the defense of the Republic. It is critical to the defense of our territory,” the President said.
Fifteen newly promoted PCG officers took their oath before the President, among them Commodores Christopher Meniado, Dominador Senador III, Vincent Bingbong Fiesta, Fideles Sallidao, Romeo Pulido Jr., Rejard Marfe, Geoffrey Espaldon, Prudencio Patricio Jr., Jay Tristan Tarriela, Fedelyn Santos and Alexis Calderon.
