Instructors from the United States Coast Guard (USCG) completed a four-week Advanced Boarding Officer Course with Philippine maritime authorities, bolstering US-Philippine collaboration and improving maritime law enforcement capabilities.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) was the focus of the July 12-23 training, while participants from the Philippine National Police-Maritime Group (PNP-MG) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) attended the July 26-August 6 program, the U.S. Embassy in Manila said in an issued statement.
The interagency training drew a total of 42 participants from the Philippines.
The training built on prior USCG courses held over the preceding two years by stressing more difficult scenarios and tactics for previous graduates of Basic Boarding Officer Courses and others with comparable experience.
The PNP-MG, on the other hand, supplemented the USCG curriculum by teaching maritime enforcement concepts, investigations, chain of custody, and supporting prosecutions, all while stressing the need of interagency collaboration.
Three PCG graduates from the July 12-23 training were retained as assistant instructors for the second training, showing the Philippines’ commitment and capacity to handle more advanced training in the future, said the statement.
USCG looks forward to continued interagency activities with Philippine agencies as they cultivate and expand their training programs.
