MANILA, Philippines — The US Coast Guard recently conducted a small-scale training for its Philippine counterpart to boost maritime law enforcement capabilities.
The small boat operations course was the first in a series of “train the trainer” courses that is envisioned to prepare Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) instructors to manage the training program in the future, the US Embassy in Manila said in a statement on Monday (March 9).
The training, held in Manila from Feb. 24 to March 6, involved eight participants from PCG.
The course covered pre-mission planning, risk management, docking, towing and navigation.
Follow-on courses in this series will further develop the technical skills of PCG instructor-candidates, while introducing PCG students as trainees for the instructor development process, the embassy said.
“It’s a great exchange of professional knowledge between USCG and PCG,” said PCG commander Christie Cabuyaban in the statement.
“It will further enhance the Surface Support Force capabilities to respond to search and rescue cases,” Cabuyaban added.
The PCG has been working with its American counterpart since 2014 to develop its expanding workforce and establish training programs to sustain operations.