INAPRUBAHAN na ng House Committee on Transportation ang mga panukala para sa pagtatayo ng Philippine Coast Guard Academy.

Ito ay makaraang magdesisyon ang komite sa pangunguna ni Samar 1st District Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento na tanggapin ang rekomendasyon ng Department of Interior and Local Government na i-consolidate na ang mga panukala para sa PCG Academy.

Kabilang dito ang House Bill No. 4161 nina Tingog Sinirangan Partylist Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez at Majority Leader at Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin Romualdez, at ang House Bill No. 7197 na inihain nina Palawan 3rd District Rep. Gil “Kabarangay” Acosta Jr. at Palawan 1st District Rep. Franz “Chicoy” Alvarez.

“We recommend that the House bills be consolidated as they pertain to the same objective which is the establishment of the Philippine Coast Guard Academy. It cannot be said that there is a need to address the issue regarding maritime security,” pahayag ni DILG Undersecretary Ricojudge Echiverri sa pagdinig.

Naniniwala si Echiverri na sa pamamagitan ng pagtatayo ng PCG Academy ay mapalalakas ang maritime border capabilities ng bansa bilang tugon sa maritime security environment gayundin sa paggamit ng intelligence at surveillance para sa kaligtasan ng publiko.

Ipinaliwanag naman ng mga Romualdez na panahon na upang magkaroon ng ‘dedicated educational institution’ para sa pangangailangan ng PCG at maritime law enforcement.

Alinsunod sa panukala ng mga Romualdez, itatayo ang PCG Academy sa 10-ektaryang lupain na iginawad sa Coast Guard District Eastern Visayas ng Department of Environment and Natural Resources, sa Brgy. Cabalwan, Tacloban City, Leyte.

“The State needs to create the appropriate institutional arrangement in order to establish an effective and well-trained PCG Officers Corps, comparable with that of the Philippine Military Academy and the Philippine National Police Academy, sufficient to carry out the mandated tasks of the PCG under RA No. 9993 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, as well as, to competently carry out missions as may be given by the Department of Transportation or Department of National Defense during national emergencies or in times of war, respectively,” pahayag pa sa panukala.

Sa panukala naman nina Acosta, itatayo ang Academy sa 200-hectare land na iginawad sa Coast Guard District Palawan ng lokal na pamahalaan sa Brgy. Apurawan, Aborlan, Palawan.