PCG Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commo Jay T Tarriela PCG (extreme left) administering the oath taking of 40 newly accepted Phil. Coast Guard auxiliarists during the Indocrination and Oath Taking Ceremony on Wednesday (Jan. 28) at Peoples Develoment Institute, Bulawen, Zambales. Also in photo is Commo Yashika Torib PCGA, Chief of Staff, CGAD NCR-CL.
PALAUIG, Zambales- Forty fisherfolks from Zambales, Bataan and Pangasinan took oath of membership to Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary (PCGA) as Auxiliarists during the mass Indocrination and Oath Taking Ceremony held in this town on Wednesday.
The auxiliarists will form part of the newly formed Zambales Division of Coast Guard Auxiliary District National Capital Region-Central Luzon (CGAD NCR-CL), 111th Auxiliary Squadron under the leadership of Director Auxiliary Squadron 111th Commander Eric John Gallardo PCGA.
Started in 1972 throught the Republic Act 9993, the PCGA is a uniformed (patterned after PCG), volunteer non-government oraganization that supports as multiflier force for the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in promoting maritime safety, environmental protection and community relations, and disaster relief.
Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay T Tarriela PCG administered the oath taking of 10 female and 37 male auxiliarists, and one with the rank of Ensign, whose main livelihood are fishing and fishing related activities.
“Kung mayroong batayan ng sukat ang bolunterismo, ang mangingisda ang may pinakamagaling na grado (If there is a basis of measurement of volunteerism, the fishermen will the the best),” said Commo. Tarriela.
“Our critics may again say that we (PCG) are bringing you to another level of danger; that the Coast Guard is making another scripted scheme of the fishermen to provoke the Chinese,” he added.
The Commodore affirmed that the PCG is recognizng the importance of all the efforts of the PCGA as volunteers to help the Coast Guard, “They symbolizes the stand of the Filipinos in the West Philippine Sea,” he said. According to Commo. Tarriela, Filipino fishermen are the ones directly affected by illegal fishing in the WPS, and so they volunteered to become auxiliarists of the PCG to train them to be able to help in monitoring illegal, undocumented and unreported (IUU) activities, including the putting of bouys, markers and obstacles in Bajo De Masinloc, and other areas inside the WPS.
Meanwhile, through the initiatives of Peoples Development Institute (PDI), led by its president Aurea Miclat Teves, expressed her happiness for the willingness of the fisherfolks to volunteer and become PCGA auxiliarists. However, they could help much by reporting and monitoring.
The auxiliarists were given seminar on “Fisherfolks Training on Monitoring Illegal, Undocumented and Unreported Activities in the West Philippine Sea”, a one-day seminar on how to properly report illegal fishing to PCG while at sea.(RAV)
