By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The Philippine Coast Guard is set for a major institutional overhaul after the Senate approved a revised law that seeks to strengthen its organization, modernize its capabilities and bring the agency’s personnel benefits and career structure closer to those of other uniformed services.
The Senate approved Senate Bill No. 2116, or the proposed Revised Philippine Coast Guard Law, with 19 affirmative votes and no abstentions on Tuesday.
The Philippine Coast Guard welcomed the passage, describing it as a major legislative step toward building a stronger, more capable and future-ready maritime agency.
The proposed law would reorganize the PCG into functional, support and technical commands and establish 17 Coast Guard districts nationwide, providing a clearer structure for carrying out its expanding responsibilities.
The measure also seeks to establish clearer rules governing ranks, appointments and promotions, strengthening the agency’s career system and command structure.
A major provision calls for the creation of a Philippine Coast Guard Academy within five years, providing a dedicated institution for the professional development and training of future Coast Guard officers.
The bill also provides PCG personnel with base pay, hazard pay and other benefits corresponding to their Armed Forces of the Philippines ranks, along with longevity pay, medical assistance, retirement and disability benefits.
Families of Coast Guard personnel who die in the line of duty would also receive survivorship benefits under the proposed law.
The PCG said the measure would enhance its ability to perform its core responsibilities in maritime safety, maritime security, law enforcement, marine environmental protection and safeguarding the country’s maritime interests.
For an archipelagic nation whose territory and economic interests extend across vast maritime areas, the Coast Guard plays a critical role in keeping sea lanes safe, enforcing maritime laws and responding to emergencies at sea.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo, principal sponsor of the measure, said the proposed law would provide the PCG with the legal authority and institutional support needed to protect Philippine waters while ensuring that its personnel receive ranks, career opportunities and pay grades comparable with those of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police.
Sen. Lito Lapid, one of the bill’s authors, said strengthening the Coast Guard is necessary because its uniformed personnel are repeatedly called upon during national emergencies and in protecting Philippine waters and sovereignty.
The Senate action represents a significant step toward institutionalizing the PCG’s expanding role in national security and maritime governance.
The measure must still complete the remaining legislative requirements before it can become law.
But with Senate approval secured, the Coast Guard is now closer to gaining a stronger organizational foundation, improved personnel support and a more modern framework for confronting the increasingly complex challenges facing the country’s maritime domain.
For the PCG, the proposed law is more than an organizational rewrite—it is a blueprint for a Coast Guard built to meet the demands of a rapidly changing maritime future.
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