Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Coast Guard backs bill seeking to establish training academy

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 17, 2019): Coast Guard backs bill seeking to establish training academy



Personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard during a rescue operation. (File photo)

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Tuesday lauded the bill filed at the House of Representatives, which seeks to establish the PCG academy.

PCG spokesperson Capt. Armando Balilo, in a text message, said the PCG is a constantly evolving organization, thus the need for training of its personnel on skills unique to PCG’s functions.

“With so many challenges in the maritime environment, we need to professionalize our personnel with training that will focus on skills peculiar to coast guard functions,”
Balilo said.

He added that the move will also promote a unified culture and environment within the uniformed service.


Currently, commissioned officers and other personnel of the maritime security service are trained on several different maritime schools such as the US Coast Guard Academy, the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy, and some from the Philippine Military Academy.

The spokesperson said most of them were graduates of four-year college courses with only one year of additional training before proceeding to train for the officer’s corps.

These different sources of education and training of their personnel, he said, cause disparity in culture within the service.

“Walang particular culture at iba-iba ang orientation (There’s no particular culture and there’s different orientation),” Balilo said.

He added that the creation of the PCG academy would fix these differences, as once it is built, prospective personnel would be trained together for four years within its walls.

On August 27, House Bill 4161 or “An Act to Establish the PCG Academy” was filed during the first regular session of the House and was sponsored by Tingog Party-list Rep. Yedda Romualdez and House Majority Leader Leyte (1st District) Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.

The bill would establish an exclusive PCG academy similar to the PMA and the Philippine National Police Academy and would serve as the primary source of its commissioned officers through education and training in maritime law enforcement and administration.

PCG commandant, Adm. Elson Hermogino, thanked the sponsors and other supporters of the bill following its filing and expressed optimism the bill would be enacted into law.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1080664

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