<\/p>\n
THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is set to receive 40 fast patrol crafts (FPCs) from France following the purchase approval of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during the board meeting of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Tuesday.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe acquisition of 40 units of fast patrol boats, as an ODA (Official Development Assistance) project is approved,\u201d said President Marcos, chairman of the NEDA Board, during the meeting at the Malaca\u00f1an Palace.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Of the 40 units, 20 will be assembled in the Philippines, aligning with Bagong Pilipinas initiative to enhance maritime security by upgrading the PCG\u2019s capabilities.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The project, funded through a P25.8-billion ODA from the French government, marks a significant investment in strengthening the country\u2019s maritime defense.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n During a press briefing on Thursday, PCG Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gavan said the acquisition of the 40 fast patrol crafts is the largest single-purchase for the modernization of the Coast Guard, calling it a \u201cgame-changer.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt is the largest, so far, single-purchase in the modernization of the Philippine Coast Guard. It is a game-changer for us. It will enable the Philippine Coast Guard to have at least two patrol boats in every district, fast enough to reach edges of our socio-economic zone forms to enforce the laws,\u201d he said.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some of the vessels will be deployed to the West Philippine Sea (WPS) as part of the PCG\u2019s \u201cmix of capabilities\u201d to address security threats in Philippine waters, Gavan said.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The vessels are expected to enhance the drive against smuggling, drug trafficking, piracy, illegal fishing, and other forms of maritime crime.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAll forms of maritime crimes because enforcement of laws require us to be there. So, we need boats. This will also be engaged in search and rescue, and environmental protection and surveillance operations,\u201d Gavan said.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGiving protection to our fishermen is a fundamental duty of the coast guard. That can be part of the task of the coast guard through these boats. But not only securing our fishermen, ginagawa naman natin \u2018yan kahit wala pa itong 35-meter patrol boats,\u201d he added.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The patrol crafts are also expected to support socio-economic development by aiding in the transport of goods and personnel during calamities and disasters, benefitting both national and local governments.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is set to receive 40 fast patrol crafts (FPCs) from France following the purchase approval of President Ferdinand R. Marcos<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9853"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9853"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9854,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9853\/revisions\/9854"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}