City Hall commits P1-M boat ramp for Coast Guard

THE Iloilo City government will fund the construction a ramp or slipway of the Philippine Coast Guard-District Western Visayas (CGDWV) base at Bo. Obrero, Lapuz district to improve disaster response operations at sea.

Mayor Jose Espinosa III said that the project would shorten the response time of the disaster units in the city.

“The project will ensure faster response operation the city. Ma improve ang aton capability in cases of emergency nga gahitabo sa aton sa siyudad sang Iloilo. The commitment is now being concretized,” Espinosa assured.

Espinosa and Capt. Allan Victor Dela Vega, PCG commander of Western Visayas, led the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the construction of the slipway on November 22, 2018 at the City Hall.

Aside from improving the timeliness of response units, the project will also help in reaching out to flooded areas in the city since it is near the river, according to Dela Vega.

“Since one of the concerns in the area is the Iloilo-Guimaras route wherein it is host to almost 6,000 passengers crossing there, we have identified the coast guard in Bo. Obrero to be a strategic area. It is also beside the river so it will have access to different areas in Iloilo City especially when there is flooding in some areas,” he added.

Based on the MOU, the project seeks to address emergency response specifically in the coastal barangays of Bo. Obrero, Barangay Hinactacan, and Ingore, as these barangays are vulnerable to accidents and occurrence of storm surges during typhoons.

The memorandum added that residents must be trained on how to respond in a systematic and organized way to emergencies such as drowning and boat capsizing.

The project will also provide space for rescue boats for the Philippine Coast Guard, response units of the city, and non-government organizations (NGOs).

Data from the Philippine Coast Guard indicated that 21 drowning cases and 17 boats capsized in Iloilo City between 2015 and 2017.

SOURCE: The Daily Guardian

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