By Perla Lena/PNA
ILOILO CITY — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) will be elevating its Guimaras sub-station into a provincial station, in recognition of its potential not only as a maritime hub but as a destination.
PCG Iloilo commander, Lt. Commander Rodolfo Dela Peña, in a phone interview Thursday, said they are just waiting for the approval of their request from their central office to activate the Coast Guard Station in Guimaras.
They have also requested a budget for the construction of the building on 500-square meter lot donated by the provincial government. “By 2020 the (building of the Coast Guard Station Guimaras will be constructed,” he said.
Governor Samuel Gumarin has provided them a temporary building should the request for activation of the station is approved early next year or before the year ends.
The temporary office and the donated lot are situated at the provincial government compound in Barangay San Miguel, Jordan. Meantime, while waiting for the activation, the PCG has recently activated the substations in the towns of Nueva Valencia and Sibunag.
They are just waiting for the deed of usufruct to also establish a substation in San Lorenzo town. There are already existing substations in Buenavista and Jordan towns. “With this it won’t be difficult for us to do our monitoring,” he said.
Commodore Allan Victor T. Dela Vega, commander of the Coast Guard District Western Visayas (CGDWV), in a previous interview said the Coast Guard substations in Ajuy and San Joaquin, Iloilo have already been activated.
The PCG has been increasing its personnel along coastal lines by establishing a station in every coastal municipality and with presence in every coastal barangay, he said.
“We are shifting from being only a ports’ guard into really a true meaning of being a coast guard. Sometimes there are activities in our coastlines that are unmonitored and is vulnerable to illegal activities, so this is the direction of the coast guard,” he added.
