Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commandant, Admiral George V. Ursabia Jr. led the donning and oath-taking ceremonies of Cong Bingo Matugas of the First District of Surigao del Norte as the newest “Auxiliary Commodore” of the PCG Auxiliary (PCGA) Executive Squadron yesterday, 12 May 2021.
During his speech, Cong. Matugas expressed his gratitude for becoming part of the PCG that is in the first line of defense, especially in the promotion of safety of lives and properties at sea, as well as in the protection of the country’s rich marine resources.
“Rest assured that as a member of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety, I will continue to push for measures in support of the programs of the PCG, especially those that affect our people and our province,” Cong. Matugas said.
“May God bless our plans and actions in the PCG as we, together, continue to guard lives and territories, especially now that we are in a world war against the pandemic,” he added.
For his part, Admiral Ursabia thanked the good Congressman for partnering with the PCG, especially in lobbying for the expansion of Coast Guard infrastructure and the recruitment of sufficient number of PCG personnel in various parts of the country, to be able to delivery quality public service to all Filipinos.
“The PCG is relatively young. We separated from the Navy in 1998 and acquired our enabling laws in 2010. Technically, we are only 11 years old and with 18,600 personnel to date, we have yet to achieve our initial goal of having one PCG personnel in every kilometer of our 37,000-kilometer coastline, excluding our internal waters and exclusive economic zone,” the Coast Guard Commandant shared.
“That is why I have been saying that the PCGA is our secret weapon for they are helping us in addressing such shortage in manpower, especially in this time of pandemic. Nevertheless, we need to have permanent solutions to resolve this gap. I am grateful that Congressman, and now, Auxiliary Commodore Matugas assured that he will continue to rally behind us to achieve such goal,” Admiral Ursabia furthered.
Also present during the ceremonies held at Barangay Libertad, General Luna, Surigao del Norte were Reverend Father Julian Dayola, Surigao del Norte Governor Francisco “Lalo” Matugas, and Commodore Luisito Sibayan of the PCG District North Eastern Mindanao.
(Source: Philippine Coast Guard Facebook page)