STARTING next week, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Davao will enforce their “Oplan Guyod” operation that targets unregistered water vessels plying within Davao gulf.
PCG Commander George Maganto said on Saturday that their registration for the Safety, Security, and Environmental Numbering System (SSENS) has ended and covers all the watercrafts in the region after their rounds in different coastal barangays of Pantukan, Compostela Valley to Malalag, Davao del Sur starting last July 2017.
The registration aimed to monitor the activities of sea vessels and apprehend those conducting illegal activities, terrorism, kidnapping, piracy, smuggling, and other criminal activities. They are also cognizant of the fact that criminals use water bodies as entry point and water vessels as means of transportation.
With this, there is now organized monitoring on the movements of watercrafts since each of it has designated SSEN number and details including owner's names were inputted on their database for easy profiling.
They also included unmotorized bancas after receiving information that these are being used for robbery in ships. This is covered by the PCG Department Order 2017-001, which requires all Philippine registered sea vessels with 35 gross tonnage and below to register with PCG to monitor all the movements of watercrafts in the area.
Once Oplan Guyod will be implemented, they will impound the vessel until such time the owner could provide the necessary documents.