In celebration of World Oceans Day 2022, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources–Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR – BMB) intensified their cooperation in upholding marine environmental protection through the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) Wednesday, June 8.
Gracing the MOA signing ceremony were PCG Commandant, CG Admiral Artemio M Abu, and DENR – BMB Officer-in-Charge, Director Natividad Bernardino.
In his speech, CG Admiral Abu expressed the PCG’s commitment to develop and implement policies that will serve as a legal framework for the preservation and conservation of the country’s marine environment for sustainable marine biodiversity.
“As we speak, some reports made headlines that factors contributing to the degradation of the marine ecosystem were identified, such as overfishing, destructive fishing methods, and climate change are the challenges confronting our oceans,” the PCG Commandant shared.
“With this MOA, we pledge long-term systematic monitoring and strategic management practices of our marine protected areas. This agreement will strengthen our partnership, provide a lot of capacity-building initiatives, and will serve as an instrument to test our capabilities and commitment to protecting the marine environment,” CG Admiral Abu added.
For her part, Director Bernardino said the PCG and DENR – BMP partnership is a great win for the Philippine oceans by uniting government instrumentalities with mandates over the vast bodies of water surrounding the country’s archipelago to work together for a better and sustained management of the Philippine marine environment.
“We assure our partners from the PCG that we will be proactive and ensure our strong collective action towards the ocean. We will strengthen this partnership by crafting the operational plan anchored on the stipulations of the MOA. We will also ensure the funding complementation between our agencies for the smooth implementation of the agreement,” the DENR – BMB OIC furthered.
Based on the MOA, the PCG and DENR – BMB will exchange information and technical expertise to carry out marine environmental protection activities, such as boundary demarcation and marker buoy installation in the National Integrated Protected Area System – Marine Protected Areas (NIPAS–MPAS).
The two parties will also conduct joint activities or complementation of technical assistance on law enforcement, marine scientific research, and water quality monitoring, among others.
The PCG and DENR – BMB will also develop coordination and reporting mechanisms on marine vessel-related incidences, including oil spill, ship grounding, marine pollution, and search and rescue (SAR).
Finally, they committed to conducting capacity-building exercises; sharing equipment, facilities, and vessels; and performing other activities related to marine environmental protection.
CG Rear Admiral Robert Patrimonio, Commander of the PCG Marine Environmental Protection Command; CG Rear Admiral Joseph Coyme, Commander of the PCG Maritime Safety Services Command; CG Commodore Hostillo Arturo Cornelio, Commander of the PCG District NCR – Central Luzon; and CG Commodore Armand Balilo, Commander of the Coast Guard Public Affairs, also joined the MOA signing ceremony. (PR) – gb
