More of a priority

Not wanting to be left behind, the Philippine Coast Guard asked Congress to pass legislation to provide for their modernization.

“I think what we need right now is the Philippine Coast Guard modernization law so that we will be able to program those acquisitions of coast guard offshore patrol vessels, additional aircraft, enhancing our maritime domain and building more radar, AIS and lighthouses in different coastal areas in the country,” Philippine Coast Guard adviser for maritime security Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a Philstar.com report.

We agree with this idea. In fact we can present three reasons why.

The first reason we see is the need to assert our sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea.

There is no competing with China when it comes to military might. However, the best thing we can do to secure our borders is to have a force that can at least go toe-to-toe with their own coast guard when our fishermen venture into their traditional fishing grounds or during supply runs to the BRP Sierra Madre.

We can even go as far as to equip Coast Guard vessels with water cannons and lasers to keep up with the “arms race” happening there.

Second reason, as a country with porous borders and surrounded by countries that sometimes become a base for religious extremists, it is now more important than ever to be able to prevent threats from coming in.

In the past, many terrorists have been able to enter the country just by taking a boat to our southernmost islands.

The third reason is that we are an archipelago and sea transport plays an important role in the lives of many. It isn’t always safe, we can never tell when the next sea mishap will happen. Oftentimes the Coast Guard becomes the first responders to such situations.

Imagine how many lives would be saved if the Coast Guard were able to quickly respond to any emergency at sea, complete with more aircraft, better radar guidance, and an Automatic Identification System.

Let’s hope our lawmaker realize that right now the need to modernize our Coast Guard is more of a priority than proposals for Charter Change, whether hybrid or otherwise.