10 boats secure Mactan channel, says Coast Guard official

Ensign John Manuel Alip, deputy head of Philippine Coast Guard Cebu, (left) inspects the security along the coastal areas of the Mactan Channel especially the seawaters near the venue of the Asean meetings in Cebu City.
CDN PHOTOS/ FE MARIE DUMABOC

WITH nearly 5,000 police officers securing the Asean Senior Economic Officials Meetings in land, at least 10 vessels from the ASEAN Task Unit Maritime, which is led by the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy, are securing the coastal waters at the Mactan Channel especially those

areas near the Cebu International Port, which is adjacent to the Radisson Blu Hotel, the venue of the meetings.

Despite having received no threats in the coastal areas in Cebu, Task Unit Maritime members were closely monitoring these areas, said Ensign John Manuel Alip, deputy head of the Philippine Coast Guard Cebu, who led the ocular inspection yesterday of the maritime personnel securing the waters of Cebu for the Asean Senior Economic Officials Meetings in Cebu City.

“So far walang threat tayo na natatanggap.. Sa pasil ang dangerous entrance, palaging pinupuntahan natin yan para magpatrol. Kailangang mas mahigpit tayo ngayon, kasi nandyan pa yang nangyayari sa Marawi City,” said Alip, who was ordered by Commodore Pablo Gonzalez Jr., district commander and the commander of Asean Task Unit Maritime.

The unit is made up of personnel from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Phil. Navy, PNP Maritime Group, Philippine Coast Guard, and the Cebu Port Authority.

Alip, who was accompanied by some people in the media, inspected the waters such as those near Barangay Pasil Port, which was described by Alip as a dangerous entrance as most of the unregistered pumpboats carrying passengers from Bohol province usually dock on Pasil port.

The Task Unit Maritime’s jobs include checking vessels sailing along Mactan channel especially suspicious vessels.