Coast Guard anti-terror unit deployed to prevent abductions

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard deployed its Anti-Terrorist Unit to Zamboanga Peninsula and to Basilan and Sulu on Thursday in response to high-profile kidnapping of foreign nationals.

Commodore Joseph Coyme, commander of PCG Southwestern District, gave the team a sendoff at the Zamboanga International Port.

The Coast Guard Anti-Terrorist Unit, which is trained in close-quarter assault and rescue missions, will be deployed with a high-speed boat from Japan with a top speed of 50 knots and three rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIB) with a top speed of 45 knots.

The deployment was a result of a maritime security among the PCG, Navy, and the police Maritime Group to inventory sea assets that can be used to secure the region's coasts.

Monitoring of pump boats

According to Coyme, their anti-terror team will also later help in the security numbering system being implemented on motorized pumpboats. The system was launched two years ago to better track the boats. 

The coast guard have already registered 41,000 motorized boats.

Coyme said the numbering system is needed because most criminal and terrorist groups travel around the area in pump boats.

“We have evaluated that as far as the kidnap-for-ransom activity (of the criminal group) everything is being planned in Sulu and after getting all this victims it will land in Sulu,” Coyme said.

He said that it is important that the police, military and coast guard work together to secure Western Mindanao.

Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the military Western Mindanao Command and guest of honor at the sendoff said the deployment of the CGATU is timely, adding the unit should have been deployed to the area long ago.

"With the deployment of the coastguard anti-terrorism group I think it has significantly reduced the maneuver space of the kidnap-for-ransom group and terrorist and block their mobility corridor. It will be a big deterrent and reduce their plan to conduct kidnapping," Sobejana said.