Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 24) — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Tuesday said it will heighten its operating units from Oct. 27 to Nov. 5 for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) and observance of All Souls’ Day.
\”This is to ensure the orderly operations of sea transport facilities, convenient travel of the seafaring public, peaceful elections, and security of tourists in beach and private resorts nationwide amid the anticipated increased volume of maritime traffic,\” PCG Commandant CG Admiral Ronnie Gil L. Gavan said in a statement.
Gavan said the PCG will inspect luggage, deploy K-9 units, patrol and augment life guards in tourist destinations, and perform vessel and on-board inspections.
He said they will also conduct a 24/7 monitoring of nautical highway routes especially in the Visayas area, where he said most tourist destinations are located.
\”Rest assured, we will ensure maritime security and safety in our western and eastern seaboards, including inter-island routes. Our deployable response groups and the PCG Auxiliary will be ready for these operations,\” Gavan added.
The Western seaboard monitoring includes Batangas, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Aklan, Iloilo, and the Zamboanga region, while Eastern seaboard monitoring covers Metro Manila, Bicol region, Samar, Leyte, and Surigao provinces.
In a separate statement, the PCG announced it will deploy over 500 personnel in the Bicol region to assist and safeguard the elections on Oct. 30.
This comes after the Oct. 22 shooting in Barangay Maingaran, Masbate City where a barangay kagawad candidate was killed and a barangay chairman aspirant was wounded.
READ: Comelec, PNP Bicol say Masbate shooting incident ‘election-related’
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