DOTC buying P152-M PCG gear

MANILA, Philippines - The government is eyeing the acquisition of P152 million worth of disaster response equipment including rubber boats and trucks for the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

The planned procurement is on top of a P521-million acquisition of 400 search and rescue boats being readied by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the PCG.

The DOTC is inviting bidders for the supply of 15 M35 6x6 trucks worth P120 million and 40 rubber boats valued at P32 million.

The 40 rubber boats would be assigned to the PCG’s national headquarters, along with three M35 trucks, while each of the 12 PCG district offices would get one M35 truck.

Under the P521-million procurement plan, the government intends to acquire 300 aluminum, V-shaped hull boats, 81 rigid hull inflatable boats, 50 rubber boats, six jet skis, 2,586 common life vests, 862 life vests, 1,724 flares, 862 VHF handheld marine radios, and 431 megaphones.

The PCG said the rescue boats must conform to Special Forces and North Atlantic Treaty Organization standards.

Each rescue boat, according to PCG, must be equipped with a megaphone, two VHF handheld marine type radios, two life vests, six common life vests, and four flares.

Earlier, Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas II said existing search and rescue equipment of the PCG are not enough to ensure the agency’s effectiveness in guarding Philippine waters and in responding to disasters.

The PCG currently has only 63 rescue boats for its 12 districts, 63 stations, and 237 detachments.

The PCG’s area of responsibility covers 36,289 kilometers of coastline and 1,830 square kilometers of sea.

An average of 20 tropical cyclones or storms enter the Philippines every year.

The DOTC also announced plans, in cooperation with the Cebu City government, to construct a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in the province.

The DOTC is bidding out consultancy and development contracts for the project.

The BRT system, the first of its kind in the Philippines, will reportedly be patterned after the BRT system in Bogota in Colombia, Curitiba in Brazil, Seoul in South Korea and Guangzhou, China.

The Cebu BRT will have 176 buses on dedicated and exclusive bus-ways between Bulacao and Talamban, with a link to Cebu’s South Road Property. – With Lawrence Agcaoili