PRESS RELEASE

JULY 6, 2015

THIRD BATCH OF DA-BFAR PERSONNEL COMPLETES LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING

A total of 75 personnel have been added to the growing number of law enforcers who will manage and protect the country’s fishing grounds, DA Undersecretary for Fisheries and concurrent Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources national director Asis G. Perez said.

“Class Sanlahi,” whose training started April this year, is the third batch of volunteer personnel to complete the three-month law enforcement boot camp at the National Brackishwater Fisheries Technology Center in Pagbilao, Quezon.

“We are inching towards filling up more than 700 positions for law enforcers. At present, we have already trained a close to 200 personnel—many of which have already been assigned to coastal provinces while others are awaiting deployment,” Perez said.

The law enforcement training, which started October last year, equips prospective enforcers with skills and discipline to safeguard the country’s teeming marine and inland aquatic resources against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing activities.

Perez said the training was divided into two parts: the 30-day transition period where participants are indoctrinated in discipline, conduct and values, basic tactical and physical training and the 60-day training on BFAR operations and protocols, fishery laws and aquatic protection, shipboard operations and practicum, advance tactical training, water search and rescue, field training exercises and physical development program. The trainees are closely supervised by BFAR’s Law Enforcement Unit, he said.  

Also part of the BFAR’s law enforcement capacity-strengthening is the procurement of 27 units of 40-footer Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) vessels, 70 units of 30-footer multi-mission vessels and, two units 50-meter vessel equipped with necessary special operations tools and devices such as service fire arms, GPS, night vision goggles, scuba gears and, rigid-hulled inflatable rubber boats.

The fourth batch of trainees, who arrived from different regions early this month, is now on the initial phase of training which is set to end in October.    

###