Philippine Coast Guard - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) (Filipino: Tanúrang Baybayin ng Pilipinas) (TBP) is a maritime law enforcement agency operating under the Department of Transportation and Communications

Department of Transportation and Communications (Philippines)

The Department of Transportation and Communications is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the maintenance and expansion of viable, efficient, and dependable transportation and communications systems as effective instruments for national recovery and economic...

of the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

.

The PCG is involved in the broader enforcement of maritime laws in the country, especially against smuggling

Smuggling

Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...

, illegal fishing, drug trafficking and piracy

Piracy

Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...

. It is also involved in maritime search and rescue

Search and rescue

Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...

(SAR) missions, as well as the protection of the marine environment. Currently, it is present throughout the archipelago

Archipelago

An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...

, with ten Coast Guard districts, fifty-four CG stations and over one hundred ninety CG detachments, from Basco, Batanes

Basco, Batanes

Basco is a 5th class municipality in the Batanes Province, Philippines. It is the capital municipality of Batanes...

to Bongao, Tawi-Tawi

Bongao, Tawi-Tawi

Bongao is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 58,174 people in 10,146 households.-History:...

.

Currently, the new Philippine Coast Guard Act or otherwise known as Senate Bill No. 3389, is under deliberation at the Philippine Senate which will further strengthen the mandate of the PCG.

Units

The Philippine Coast Guard's major units include the Maritime Security and Law Enforcement Command (MSLEC) [formerly known as the Coast Guard Operating Forces (CGOF)], Marine Environmental Protection Command (MEPCOM), Maritime Safety Services Command (MSSC) [formerly knokwn as Aids to Navigation Command (ANC)], and the Coast Guard Education and Training Command (CGETC). Among the PCG's special units are the Coast Guard Fleet, Coast Guard Aviation Group, Coast Guard Special Operations Group, and the CG K-9 Unit

Police dog

A police dog, often referred to as a "K-9 dog" in some areas , is a dog that is trained specifically to assist police and other law-enforcement personnel in their work...

. The PCG used to be under the Armed Forces of the Philippines

Armed Forces of the Philippines

The Armed Forces of the Philippines is composed of the Philippine Army, Philippine Navy and Philippine Air Force...

, but is now fully under civilian authority under the Department of Transportation & Communication.

Due to an increase in terrorist attacks, the PCG activated the Task Force Sea Marshals, a composite team from the PCG, AFP and Philippine National Police

Philippine National Police

The Philippine National Police is the national police force of the Republic of the Philippines. It is both a national and a local police force in that it does provides all law enforcement services throughout the Philippines...

. These Sea Marshals ride on many passenger ferries traveling to and from Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

, and maintain a security presence aboard these ferries.

Coast Guard Air Group

The Coast Guard Air Group (CGAG) was formally activated on 18 May 1998 during the incumbency of Commodore Manuel de Leon as Commandant, PCG. Accordingly, Commander Noel Monte was designated as its first Commander holding office at the former PADC Hangar Nr. 3, Domestic Airport Complex, Pasay City.

On 22 January 1999, after eight months of existence, CGAG acquired its first aircraft, a BN Islander

Britten-Norman Islander

The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a 1960s British light utility aircraft, regional airliner and cargo aircraft designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. The Islander is one of the best-selling commercial aircraft types produced in Europe. Although designed in...

from the Philippine National Oil Company – Energy Development Corporation (PNOC – EDC). After six months intensive inspection and rehabilitation, it was commissioned into Coast Guard service on 26 June 1999 as PCG–251. On June 1999, the first helicopter, a MBB Bo 105CB was acquired from PADC and was commissioned with the tail number PCG–1636. Another aircraft, a Cessna 421

Cessna 421

-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Taylor, John W.R. . Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976-77. London:Jane's Yearbooks, 1976. ISBN 0-354-00538-3....

B "Golden Eagle" was acquired without cost from the Bureau of Soils and Water Management sometime in the early part of 2000. However, due to budgetary constraint, the aircraft rehabilitation was not yet completed up to this date. In the same year, another BN Islander with the tail number PCG–684 was acquired. It was commissioned and activated on June 2002 after it underwent rehabilitation. On 30 March 2001, the helm of the CGAG was transferred to Captain Lino Darbi. In search for a bigger home for its growing inventory, on 21 November 2002, with the support of the SOTC, Pantaleon Alvarez, the Manila International Airport Authority allowed CGAG to occupy this present location. Extensive renovation works were undertaken to make the hangar suitable to be called the nerve center of all Coast Guard Air Operations. On 28 March 2003, the CGAG acquired another Bo 105C helicopter from PADC, aircraft carriers PSN-234 and was commissioned into the service as PCG–145, and PCG-192 during the Group’s 5th Founding Anniversary.

With the intense need to have the capability to extract survivors from water, the said helicopter was fitted with a rescue hoist through the courtesy from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Another significant milestone unfolded the history of the Group when the PCG leadership was turned over to Vice Admiral Arthur Gosingan. Through the intense endorsement of the Commander, CGOF, Rear Admiral Damian Carlos in recognizing the importance of the air unit in coast guard operations and their outstanding accomplishments has granted the aviators their most aspired yearning for their career by approving the Group’s position paper on the Command Pilot Rating. This enables the aviators to have an equal opportunity with officers that acquired a Command at Sea Badge to assume position to higher responsibilities in the Coast Guard hierarchy. Today, the yoke of CGAG was entrusted to Commodore Aaron Reconquista.

Special Operations Group

The Philippine Coast Guard's Special Operations Group (CGSOG) is the special forces

Special forces

Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...

unit of the Philippine Coast Guard. It is a domestic counter-terrorism

Counter-terrorism

Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...

and law enforcement unit directly under its control, particularly notable for their involvement in the aftermath of the 2004 SuperFerry 14 bombing.

Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary

The Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary is the civilian support group for the Philippine Coast Guard. Although a volunteer, civilian organization, the PCGA uses a military structure for organizational purposes. Like other volunteer sea rescue organizations around the world, it performs non-military and non-police activities in support of its national navy or coast guard. These endeavors include search and rescue

Search and rescue

, environmental protection

Environmental protection

Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organizational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. Due to the pressures of population and our technology the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently...

, disaster relief, community service

Community service

Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....

, and marine safety.

Ships in service

Vessel	Builder	Class	Commissioned	Notes
BRP Batangas (SARV 004)	Tenix	San Juan Class , 56 meter)	2003	All 56 meter vessels equipped with helipad.
BRP Pampanga (SARV 003)	Tenix	(San Juan Class , 56 meter)	February 2003	All 56 meter vessels equipped with helipad.
BRP EDSA II (SARV 002)	Tenix	(San Juan Class, 56 meter)	October 2000	All 56 meter vessels equipped with helipad.
BRP San Juan (SARV 001)	Tenix	{San Juan Class, 56 meter)	June 2000	All 56 meter vessels equipped with helipad.
BRP Davao del Norte (SARV 3504)	Tenix	(Ilocos Norte Class, 35 meter)	2003
BRP Romblon (SARV 3503)	Tenix	(Ilocos Norte Class, 35 meter)	2003
BRP Nueva Vizcaya (SARV 3502)	Tenix	(Ilocos Norte Class, 35 meter)	2001
BRP Ilocos Norte (SARV 3501)	Tenix	(Ilocos Norte Class, 35 meter)	2001
BRP Tirad Pass (AU-100)	unknown	Bessang Pass-class SAR vessel	unknown
BRP Bessang Pass (AU-75)	unknown	Bessang Pass-class SAR vessel	unknown
BRP Corregidor (AE-891)	Niigata Engineering	Corregidor-class navigational aid tender	3 February 1998	Lone ship of class
BRP Kalinga (AG-89)	Marine Iron and SB Corp.	unnamed (ex-USCG Balsam-class navigational aid tender)	November 1995	Refitted in Cavite Dockyard in 1995.
BRP Limasawa (AE-79)	Ingalls, Pascagoula, Mississippi

}
|Loaned 9 January 1968, purchased 31 August 1978
|Sister ship BRP Mangyan (AS-71)

BRP Mangyan (AS-71)

BRP Mangyan was formerly the USAT FS-524, a freight ship originally built for the United States Army. She was launched in 1944 and served the United States Army during the Second World War...

PGM-39 class gunboat

The PGM-39 class Patrol Gunboat, Motor were a class of fifty nine gunboatsPGM-39 to PGM-46PGM-51 to PGM-83PGM-91PGM-102 to PGM-108PGM-111 to PGM-117PGM-122 to PGM-124...

)
|unknown
|Undergoing engine repair.
|-
|MT Tug Habagat (TB-271)
|unknown
|unknown
|unknown
|unknown
|
|}

Note: Some BFAR ships/boats are manned by PCG personnel.

Aircraft

Aircraft	Quantity	Notes
Britten-Norman Islander Britten-Norman Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a 1960s British light utility aircraft, regional airliner and cargo aircraft designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. The Islander is one of the best-selling commercial aircraft types produced in Europe. Although designed in...	3	1 grounded
MBB Bo 105	2	1 grounded
Eurocopter EC-145	2	To be acquired in 2011.

Multi-purpose Maritime Helicopters

This acquisition project was a "priority". The helicopters have to be capable of multi-mission capabality and autopilot. It must also have small ship take-off/landing capability, and must have twin engines and high payload. The helicopters will be EC-145s

External links

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