MANILA — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is expanding the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to strengthen maritime surveillance, coastal monitoring, and emergency response as part of its modernization program.
In a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon interview, PCG spokesperson Capt. Noemie Cayabyab said the UAVs were recently tested in La Union to evaluate their capabilities in aerial surveillance and rescue operations.
“Ang UAV po natin ay may kakayahan po na lumipad hanggang 40 to 60 minutes… ang kakayahan po nito is iyong GPS navigation and live video feed transmission po. Maganda rin po itong automatic flight path programming at saka object tracking,” she said.
Cayabyab explained that the UAV program supports the Coast Guard’s “10/30 doctrine,” which requires small vessels to deploy within 10 minutes and larger ships or aircraft within 30 minutes of receiving UAV reports.
“Ang kagandahan rin po nitong UAV po natin, later on ‘no, we can use this data para magamit po na ebidensiya sa pagsasampa po ng mga kaso sa mga tao na lumalabag po sa ating batas,” she added.
The UAVs are maintained by the Coast Guard Aviation Command, and personnel receive training in flight operations, aerial mapping, sensor handling, troubleshooting, and data analysis for mission planning.
“Target po talaga natin na bigyan po ng pangunahing UAV units iyong ating mga command areas… para pantay-pantay ang surveillance capability at maabot po natin iyong mga malalayong lugar,” Cayabyab said.
She noted that the initiative, supported by allied countries, aims to enhance coastal patrols and emergency response, while PCG continues to coordinate with other government agencies to deliver service to Filipinos.
Separately, the PCG is preparing 1,300 personnel to serve as election board members in the upcoming Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao parliamentary elections, while maintaining its maritime security duties.