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Philippines, US finish search, rescue exercise in West Philippine Sea

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Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Personnel of the US Coast Guard join a search and rescue exercise in the West Philippine Sea on September 3, 2022. Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/09/04/09042022-philippines-us-finish-search-rescue-exercise-west-philippine-sea.jpg"/><figcaption>Personnel of the US Coast Guard join a search and rescue exercise in the West Philippine Sea on September 3, 2022. Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA — By just flashing lights, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) was able to send a signal to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) during a communication exercise on Friday night.In this particular drill, the USCG, through visual Morse code, sent the message “Are you in danger?” to which the PCG responded, “We are not in danger.”A controller from the PCG also transmitted information to the USCG using only the phonetic alphabet, which the latter had to decode.“Dolphin, the answer to the previous transmission is as follows: I’m holding a radar contact bearing 1-2-0 from this position, indicating a range at 1,000 yards. The contact is believed to be friendly,” a voice from the US side said.“Dolphin, this is Controller. Your answer is correct. Over,” the PCG replied.BRP Melchora Aquino Commanding Officer Commander Patrick Babag explained, flashing lights, a ship-to-ship communication, remains a good standby, especially in emergency situations at sea.“Kailangan din nating bumalik sa basics, kasi once na mag-bog down sa area ang communication, hindi reliable minsan ‘yan. Halimbawa, namatayan kayo ng generator, paano ka hihingi ng tulong sa kasama mo kung hindi ka marunong magsend niyan,” Babag told reporters.“Nagbibigay ng blink ang signals, then idedecode ng personnel, so part din ‘yan ng training ng allied tactical procedure. During those times na may light signals, meron din kaming different formations na ginagawa—dimaond, line. Very risky siya sa gabi dahil ang area kung saan kami nag-exercise with USCG is daanan ng mga barko. In reality kasi, pag nag-ooperate ka, marami kang icoconsider kasi hindi lang naman ikaw ang gumagamit ng sea lane,” he added. “Diyan din natin matitest ang bridge team management and ang skills ng tao, kasi blinded ka, you will rely on your instincts, your eyes and what is being said o nakikita sa screen mo, sa radar.”The flashing exercise is part of the PCG and USCG’s two-day joint search and rescue exercise (SAREX) conducted in the West Philippine Sea, 40 nautical miles off Luzon Point in Mariveles, Bataan on September 2 and 3.Three ships participated in the exercise: the USCG’s Cutter Midgett (WMSL-757), and the PCG’s BRP Melchora Aquino (MRRV-9702) and BRP Gabriela Silang (OPV-8301).The PCG also conducted an anti-piracy exercise. The simulated scenario: BRP Melchora Aquino was attacked by pirates.After receiving the distress call, members of the PCG Maritime Security and Law Enforcement Command aboard BRP Gabriela Silang were immediately deployed.An 8-man security team conducted horseshoe maneuvers in a rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) before a second team boarded the ship and arrested the pirates.“‘Yung piracy per se kasi may elements ‘yan. Sa high seas palaging nangyayari ‘yan. Bihira naman pero kailangan handa sa lahat ng circumstances na pwedeng mangyari,” PCG spokesperson Commodore Armand Balilo said.However, during the pirates’ attack, four simulated crew of the BRP Melchora Aquino fell overboard.The PCG and USCG’s simulated mission: to rescue the victims.The search started at 9 a.m., with the PCG rescuing the first two victims out of the water and turning them over for medical assistance at around 10:30 a.m.“Medyo mahirap siya kasi dahil sa bagyo po, medyo mahirap talaga ang ganitong pagsasanay. Actual po siyang makikita niyo na maalon siya at may bagyo. Sa SAREX na ito, makikita ‘yung kakayahan ng PCG, kahit may bagyo, rumeresponde nang maayos,” Ensign Michael Loayon, who was part of the exercise, shared his experience.He then continued, “Na-challenge po kami sa pag-rescue ng mismong mga biktima. Hindi namin masisigurado kung talagang maisasalba namin ang buhay ng tao pero ginawa namin ang lahat ng aming magagawa para maisalba ang mga biktima… ‘Yung last na experience ko ng SAREX mas maaliwalas po.”Before 1 p.m., the USCG was able to rescue another victim.“Antagal naming hinanap, almost half a day,” Babag said.Heavy rains and strong winds prevented the USCG from flying its unmanned aerial vehicle and chopper, which could have helped in the search and rescue operations. The PCG was also unable to use its Cessna Caravan aircraft during the exercise.“’Yung hangin kanina, hindi na rin nila paliliparin ‘yun, kasi umabot ng 40 knots, malakas na iyon para sa chopper. At least mga 20 siguro pwede pa. Pero sa lakas kanina at bugsong dilim ng panahon, delikado na po iyon,” Babag said. But the commanding officer also noted that bad weather and sea conditions tested the coast guard personnel’s mental stability while still emphasizing that safety remains paramount.“’Yung SAR kasi, normally niyan nangyayari not in a good weather, and being a commanding officer and sa personnel, it’s a test of courage and mental stability. Na-witness din ng media na hindi biro ang hindi ka nakakatulog for the past two days dahil sa gulo ng alon. We really need ang malaking maneuverability ng barko,” Babag said.He went on, “Medyo mahirap siya, kasi sa ibang personnel natin, may mga bagong sampa lang. ‘Yung mental stability during the hardships ng training, may personnel na sumusuka na o hindi na nakakakain… You have to be patient and strong by heart and mind… Pag binigyan kami ng directive, we don’t say no, we always say &#x27;aye&#x27; and try na lumabas kung kakayanin. Ang barko, kaya ng barko ‘yan, pero minsan maaawa ka sa tao. Ang barko ay designed na mga stage 5 o 6 na alon, kaya niyan, pero ang tao, we only get so much na hirap, minsan hindi na kakayanin ng katawang lupa natin ‘yan.”For the PCG, they were able to achieve interoperability with the USCG during the exercise and hope to achieve this with other coast guards as well, to prevent sea mishaps and minimize the loss of lives at sea.“For the past two days, we had a good training exercise with the USCG Midgett… Eventually, ang purpose nun is to train and to exchange trainings with other countries,” Babag said. “Napakaimportante niyan, ang interoperability, kasi during those times, makikita ang iba’t ibang kultura kung paano magtrabaho ang mga coast guard sa buong mundo.”<div>FROM THE ARCHIVES: </div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1678942" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The Coast Guards of the Philippines and the United States concluded a search and rescue exercise at the West Philippine Sea over the weekend.

Philippines, US finish search, rescue exercise in West Philippine Sea

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Philippines, US finish search, rescue exercise in West Philippine Sea

Bianca Dava,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 04, 2022 04:22 PM PHT

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Philippines

United States

West Philippine Sea

Coast Guard

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