PCG on heightened alert for holiday season

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) will go on heightened alert from Dec. 13 to Jan. 6 in anticipation of the influx of sea passengers traveling during the coming Christmas break. 

In a statement issued yesterday, the PCG said that during the 25-day heightened alert period, their Coast Guard personnel would exercise vigilance in inspecting passengers and luggage. 

Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, PCG commandant, said, “Our kababayans have long been waiting for this season to spend quality time with their families and loved ones, either at their home provinces or in various vacation spots. Thus, we are anticipating and preparing for the high volume of maritime traffic.” 

“We conduct 24/7 monitoring of nautical highways routes, especially in the Visayas where most tourist destinations are located. Rest assured, we will ensure maritime security and safety on our western and eastern seaboards, including inter-island routes. Our deployable response groups and the PCG Auxiliary are ready for these operations,” he added. 

For the nautical highway in the western seaboard, the PCG will monitor the Batangas, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Aklan, Iloilo and Zamboanga regions. While the eastern seaboard covers Manila, Bicol region, Samar, Leyte and Surigao provinces.