Philippine Coast Guard to hire 900 new personnel in 2016

MANILA, Philippines – The undermanned Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) will hire 900 more personnel next year, a move described by the agency’s chief as “massive” recruitment.

Acting PCG commandant Rear Admiral William Melad said the Department of Budget and Management has already given the go signal for the hiring of new uniformed personnel, who would be given specialized training.

“I intend to give the task to the functional commands so they would be the ones to implement specialized training,” Melad said.

The PCG, though, will not meet its target of having a 10,000-strong command before President Benigno Aquino III’s 6-year term ends in June 2016. 

So far, the PCG only has around 8,800 personnel – not enough to secure the country’s 36,289 kilometers of coastline. Ideally, there should be one guard per kilometer of coastline.

PCG spokesperson Commander Armand Balilo said some of the recruits will be assigned to man 3 vessels from Japan and 4 vessels from France, which will arrive in the Philippines next year. (READ: Aquino vows PCG modernization by 2017 amid new challenges)

“[The Japanese vessels] would be deployed in different districts …and in the areas in the West Philippine Sea,” Balilo said.

The Philippines is locked in a maritime dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

Earlier, the Philippine Navy stressed the importance of the PCG’s role in helping to secure the country’s territorial waters, amid aggressive moves by Beijing. (READ: PH Navy welcomes growing role of Coast Guard in West PH Sea) – Rappler.com