GUIMARAS – The Philippine Coast Guard may soon have a provincial station in this island province while it has activated substations in two municipalities.
Its Guimaras substation will soon be converted into a provincial station, according to Lieutenant Commander Rodolfo Dela Peña, Coast Guard Iloilo commander.
They were just awaiting approval from their central office, Dela Peña said in a phone interview Thursday.
They also requested a budget for the construction of the provincial station building on a 500-square meter lot donated by the provincial government.
“The (building) of the Coast Guard Station Guimaras will be constructed by 2020,” said the official.
Gov. Samuel Gumarin provided the Coast Guard a temporary building should the request for the activation of the provincial station gets approved within the year or early next year.
The temporary office and the donated lot were within the provincial government compound in Barangay San Miguel, Jordan.
While awaiting the activation of the provincial station, the Coast Guard activated substations in Nueva Valencia and Sibunag towns.
They were out to set up a substation in San Lorenzo but still waiting for the deed of usufruct. Substations already exist in Buenavista and Jordan.
All these new stations will enable easier coastal monitoring, said Dela Peña.
The Coast Guard has been boosting its presence along coastlines by establishing stations in coastal municipalities and detailing officers in coastal barangays.
It has recently activated, too, substations in Ajuy and San Joaquin towns in Iloilo province, said Commodore Allan Victor T. Dela Vega, commander of the Coast Guard District Western Visayas.
“We are shifting from being only a ports’ guard into [the] true meaning of being a coastguard,” Dela Vega said.
The Coast Guard targets coastlines that are “vulnerable to illegal activities,” he stressed. (With Philippine News Agency/PN)
