Transfer of Coast Guard HQ to Sangley mulled

President Arroyo has raised the possible transfer of the Coast Guard headquarters from its present site in Port Area, Manila to Sangley Point in Cavite City.

She discussed the possible transfer with Cavite officials led by Gov. Ayong Maliksi and Cavite City Mayor Bernardo Paredes when she visited the other day the family of Joselito Alejo, one of three Filipino workers acquitted by the Saudi Arabian court recently.

At present, Sangley Point is home to the 15th Strike Wing of the Philippine Air Force.

The President said selling the present site of the Coast Guard headquarters could raise income to help narrow the widening budget deficit.

Transferring the Coast Guard headquarters to Sangley Point, she added, could spur economic activities in Cavite City and increase the value of property there and in neighboring Cavite towns.

The President mulled the transfer plan a few weeks after she placed the 2,000-man Maritime Command of the Philippine National Police under the Coast Guard, headed by Vice Admiral Reuben Lista, to beef up her administration’s anti-smuggling drive.

The Coast Guard is under the Department of Transportation and Communications.

In effecting the transfer, the President noted that the Coast Guard has ships but has no personnel which the Maritime Command has. — Marichu Villanueva