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PNP sends gunboats to 'drop-off points' of illegal drugs in Palawan


The Philippine National Police has deployed four police gunboats in three vital sea lanes in Palawan believed used by transnational drug trafficking syndicates as their drop-off points. PNP Maritime Group head Chief Superintendent Francisco Montenegro said four 31-foot police gunboats are conducting preventive patrol operations around three areas. A news release on the PNP website said the areas being watched are the Balabac Strait in the south, Linapacan Strait in northern Palawan, and in the vicinity of Busuanga Island along the Mindoro Strait. PNP chief Director General Raul Bacalzo was in Palawan last week to assess the operations of the PNP Maritime Group's Special Boat Unit (SBU), deployed in Palawan for maritime law enforcement, environmental protection and seaborne public safety operations. The SBU, manned by 112 Maritime Group personnel, operates a fleet of patrol gunboats and support vessels from its headquarters and boatyard in Puerto Princesa City. It also provides operational support to PNP territorial Police units particularly in maritime law enforcement operations against domestic threat groups, piracy in the high seas, terrorism, intrusion, smuggling, poaching, human trafficking, and violation of environmental laws. Montenegro said the SBU figured prominently in the arrest last week of six Vietnamese poachers caught fishing in municipal waters off Balabac. He said the arrested poachers yielded seven live sea turtles, two preserved carapace of marine turtles, fishing nets and chemicals suspected used in taxidermy process, which is done to preserve caught animals as hunting trophies. The SBU was organized and activated in 2007 on the initiative of the US State Department under its International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP), with the US government providing police gunboats, technical support for procedures and standards of operation; and specialized training in maritime law enforcement operation, patrol boat maintenance and interdiction techniques. In August 2010, the PNP formally received from the US government four 31-footer police gunboats that formed the backbone of the SBU. A corresponding US ICITAP grant also provided the technical assistance and logistics for support facilities of the SBU including a boathouse with dry-docking facilities for boat repair and maintenance. The Police Gunboats, designed as rigid-hull buoyant boats are manufactured by NAIAD of Rhode Island, USA and powered by twin 250HP engines that can reach speeds up to 51 knots, and is fully equipped with navigation, communication and weapons systems. The Philippines hosts at least six international sea lanes that are integral segments of the global supply chain. Two of these passes through south and west portions of the Palawan. As a party to many international treaties, the Philippines carries obligations for the protection of these international sea lanes and for responsible marine management including enforcement of provisions concerning environmental and safety issues. "The operation of the SBU is not solely for internal security and domestic law enforcement. The SBU stationed in Puerto Princesa will form part of a tri-lateral security system that will ensure maritime security in the international sea lanes in the waters off Palawan and in the Sulu-Sulawesi Sea, bordering the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, as these sea lanes are vital to the economy of the three countries," Bacalzo noted. The Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia have been involved in strengthening maritime law enforcement in the seas bordering North Sulawesi and Mindanao as a measure against transnational terrorism and criminality in the high seas. To strengthen regional security cooperation and collaboration with Indonesia and Malaysia, the block concept was conceived to safeguard the tri-boundaries of these countries in the Sulu-Sulawesi seascape in partnership with the US government which has provided a similar SBU project in Indonesia and maritime capability support in Malaysia. "Through these international cooperation and initiatives, we are confident the PNP will be able to effectively play its active role in maritime law enforcement and security in the Southeast Asian region," Bacalzo said. — LBG, GMA News

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