BACOLOD City – Preparations by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary (PCGA) in Negros Occidental are now underway for the upcoming International Maritime Pollution Exercises (Marpolex) 2024 that will be held in this highly urbanized city in June of this year.
Vice Admiral Jorge Lim, National Director of the PCGA, said the event is expected to be the biggest international maritime pollution exercise that will be hosted by Bacolod City to date.
Lim said the one-week exercise will be participated in by the coast guards of Australia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore.
He also revealed that, for the first time in history, the United States Coast Guard Indo-Pacific Command will visit Bacolod City to observe the exercises.
Last year’s Marpolex was held in General Santos City, led by the PCG’s Southern Mindanao District.
During the event, participants simulated an oil spill scenario to test and evaluate the response capability of oil spill responders, emphasizing operational coordination and communication protocols.
The activity reinforces the PCG’s mandate of protecting the marine environment as dictated by Republic Act 9993 or the Philippine Coast Guard Law of 2009, and in performance of its obligations as a member state in the 1990 International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response, and Cooperation and as a signatory to the 1981 Sulu-Sulawesi Oil Spill Network Plan. (Watchmen Daily Journal)/PN
