Christmas rush in seaports already felt, PCG says

by Martin Sadongdong

The influx of passengers in seaports and terminals is already evident a little over a week before Christmas Day, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.

Photo: PCG

On Saturday, Dec. 17, the PCG monitored 45,271 outbound passengers and 35,554 inbound passengers in all ports nationwide. The monitoring started at 6 a.m. and ended at 12 noon. 

Commo. Armando Balilo, PCG spokesperson, said 2,108 frontline personnel were deployed in 15 PCG districts to inspect vessels in ports. A total of 425 sea vessels and 680 motorbancas were checked by PCG personnel during the six-hour monitoring.

“The PCG has placed its districts, stations, and sub-staions on [a] heightened alert to manage the influx of port passengers during the Yuletide season,” Balilo said.

The heightened alert status took effect last Dec. 15 and will last up to Jan 7.

Meanwhile, the riding public is encouraged to coordinate with the PCG through its official Facebook page or its hotline 0927-560-7729 for inquiries, concerns, and clarifications regarding sea travel protocols and regulations for the holidays.

Germany donates drone to PCG

DRONE DONATION Philippine Coast Guard (PCCG) Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu accepts the drone donated by Germany, through its Ambassador to the Philippines Anke Reiffenstuel (center) and the German Corporation for International Cooperation Country Director Immanuel Gebhardt (right). The turnover ceremony was held at the PCG headquarters in Manila on Friday, June 10, 2022. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

By Franco Jose C. Baroña, Manila Times

THE Federal Republic of Germany has donated an unmanned aerial vehicle, commonly known as a drone, to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to support its capability development.

In the turnover ceremony at the PCG headquarters on Friday, PCG Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu expressed his gratitude to the German government represented by its Ambassador Anke Reiffenstuel and the German Corporation for International Cooperation Country Director Immanuel Gebhardt for the donation.

In his remarks, Admiral Abu recognized the emerging importance of unmanned systems in the performance of coast guard functions.

"More than its contribution to maritime surveillance for drug interdiction, illegal fishing operations, marine pollution and other nefarious activities, these UAV can improve PCG disaster response and relief operations particularly in damage assessment and in identifying areas where relief operations are badly needed," the PCG commandant said.

Abu said the UAV will also be utilized to provide imagery for reconnaissance purposes and generate high-resolution maps that can be used for a variety of maritime scenarios, such as rapid damage assessment of an oil spill incident or a quick survey of an area of interest for possible unlawful acts at sea.

"For these, the PCG and the whole Filipino nation are truly grateful to the German government. We are looking forward to our continued engagement and fostering a stronger partnership with our German friends," Abu said.