THE INDIAN government plans to donate seven helicopters to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Malacañang announced on Sunday after a recent courtesy call by Indian Ambassador to the Philippines Shambhu Kumaran to the President.
Amid rising tensions at sea, the PCG plans to use the helicopters as air support for its disaster response efforts and maritime operations, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said.
It said Mr. Kumaran told President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. about the planned donation, which is being discussed with the PCG and the Department of Transportation. “The discussion is going on very well. The Coast Guard is very interested — they’ve flown the helicopter…I would request your consideration because that would be a very positive [program],” the PCO quoted him as telling the President.
Mr. Kumaran said the helicopters, which were built for India’s Navy and Coast Guard, can be used for “active security operations that can carry more people.”
“These [seven helicopters] are really an optimal solution, given the changing requirements for the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to play a more active role [in the country’s] security,” he said.
The PCG was under the Department of National Defense before it was transferred to the Office of the President on March 30, 1998 through an order issued by the late president Fidel V. Ramos.
Less than a month later, Mr. Ramos eventually transferred the PCG to the Department of Transportation and Communication, which was split into two into separate agencies in 2016 through a 2015 law signed by former president Benigno S.C. Aquino III.
The PCG has since been under the Transportation department. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
