TO ENSURE that there would be an immediate response in the event of a maritime emergency near the airport in Lapu-Lapu City, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) and the Philippine Coast Guard-Coast Guard Station Cebu (PCG-CGS Cebu) have signed an agreement to achieve this.

On Monday, Dec. 2, 2019, the two agencies signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA), which states that their personnel must implement tight security in the coastal area near the airport.

The document had been prepared in 2018, but it took more than a year before it would be formally signed.

“The MCIAA and PCG entered into a Memorandum of Agreement dated April 12, 2018 for a period of 10 years effective until March 31, 2028 whereby the PCG occupies and utilizes a portion of land in the general aviation area, MCIA, Lapu-Lapu City, as air station and hangar,” read a portion of the MOA signed by CGS Cebu Station Commander Ronnie Gil Gavan and MCIAA general manager and chief executive officer Steve Dicdican.

The Coast Guard will be given space and billeting at the airport. For its part, the PCG-CGS Cebu has to produce and submit a detailed disaster plan in line with the MCIAA’s current disaster plan.

Representatives of both agencies signed the MOA at the Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino Mactan.

PCG 7 spokesperson Lieutenant Junior Grade Michael John Encina said the partnership with the MCIAA and CGS Cebu began earlier this year when it started its own Coast Guard K9 team.

One of the goals of the partnership is to establish the CGS MCIAA-Lapu Lapu City.

Some floating assets will be deployed in the coastal area near ​​the airport to ensure safety.

The partnership between the Coast Guard and MCIAA is in line with the PCG 7’s Intensified Community Awareness Response and Enforcement program. (HBL, KAL)