MANILA, Philippines— The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) revealed on Saturday that they have yet to detect two of 10 buoys it has placed in the West Philippine Sea, while the other eight remain intact.
“Siguro masama ‘yung panahon, kasi hindi natin mapuntahan. Pero so far the other eight, as reported by our personnel sa may substations dun sa mga islands, nandun pa po,” assured PCG spokesperson Armand Balilo.
(The weather may have been bad because we are unable to visit the buoys. But so far the other eight, as reported by our personnel in the islands’ substations, are still there.)
“Yung dalawa na lang ang hindi natin madetect. Pero once na medyo gumanda ‘yung panahon, we will be sending a ship to verify kung ano ang kalagayan ng mga dalawang buoys,” he added.
(It is only the two that we cannot detect. But once the weather improved, we will be sending a ship to verify the condition of the buoys.)
The PCG spokesperson said that the two buoys placed in Balagtas and Julian Felipe are “subject to validation,” following allegations that Chinese fisherfolk collected Philippine buoys under the protection of Beijing’s own coast guard.
Balilo did not confirm these claims, saying this is the first time the PCG has received such allegations.
“Wala pa namang report na nawala yung mga buoya natin. This is the first time na meron allegation. Immediately, we check kung nandoon… ‘Yung walo na malapit doon sa mga isla na sa atin ay nandun naman,” he said.
(We haven’t received reports that the buoys are missing. This is the first time that there has been an allegation. Immediately, we check if it’s still there… The eight near our islands are still there.)
“Kailangan ma-check muna natin kung ano yung reason doon sa report. Mamaya, nandoon naman pala. Mava-validate muna natin kung may nawalang buoya,” concluded Balilo.
(We first need to check the reason behind the report. It might just have been there all along. We will first validate if the buoys are missing at all.)
RELATED STORY