Coast Guard eyes HQ on Negros island

BACOLOD CITY: The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) wants to put up its own headquarters in the Negros Island Region, its officer-in-charge Joel Garcia said.

“Geographically, if you look at the nautical maps, Negros straddles Sulu Sea, which is facing Mindanao. If we are able to put up Coast Guard stations [on Negros Island] where we can place our ships and fast boats, we can easily react to threats, not only terrorism [threats] but also environmental threats that may pose hazard to the marine environment in Sulu area,” Garcia, who paid a courtesy call to Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Maranon Jr., said.