SEAPORTS in Cebu Province will be installed with marine radars to strengthen security against illegal drugs.
The One Cebu Inter-Agency Interdiction Task Force (OCIAITF) sees the importance of installing marine radars in ports due to the risk of contraband entering without being monitored.
During the meeting called by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, a member of OCIAITF reported that there were ships that arrived with incomplete documents and some also turned off their Automatic Identification System when they reached Cebu’s territorial waters to avoid being tracked.
According to Commodore Luisito Sibayan of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) District Central Visayas, that even if the ship is not functioning, the mechanism can still determine its whereabouts.
“That’s one way to strictly monitor ang mga barko na iyan so before entering pag may mga ganyang problema pwede na rin nating sitahin para mas magampanan natin ng maganda ang trabaho ng ating task force (when there are problems like that we can apprehend them so that we can perform better the job of our task force),” Sibayan said through Sugbo News, Capitol’s social media arm.
In line with this, Governor Garcia is set to issue an executive order backed by a provincial ordinance that will outline the protocols for ships that dock at private and public ports in the province.
“The port operators kahit private operators iyan need to follow whether or not they follow that ito na ang PNP (Philippine National Police) and Coast Guard that will see to it that it is strictly followed and any violation will be dealt with,” Garcia said.
The governor is expected to visit the ports, including Pier 3 in Cebu City, next week to oversee the operations there. (ANV / TPT)