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MANILA: Presidential Assistant for Maritime Concerns Gen. Andres Centino on Tuesday defended the provision under the newly-signed Executive Order No. 57, allowing foreign aid to beef up the Philippines’ maritime defense.
In an interview on the sidelines of a forum in Quezon City, Centino said accepting foreign grants or donations to help Manila strengthen its maritime capabilities would not equate to foreign intervention.
‘In the old executive order, there’s also a provision that allows the receipt of grants and donations. These are coming from our allies and partners who would like to help us in enabling us in ensuring that we are able to secure our maritime domain,’ he said.
‘I don’t think (it is foreign intervention), it would be more of acknowledging that we need the help of our partners and allies,’ he added.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed on March 25 EO No. 57, which reorganized the National Coast Watch Council (NCWC) to the National Maritime Council (NMC) as the central body in-charge of
‘formulating policies and strategies to ensure a unified, coordinated and effective governance framework for the country’s maritime security and domain awareness.’
Section 7 of the EO authorizes the NMC to ‘accept donations, contributions, grants, bequests or gifts from domestic or foreign sources, for purposes relevant to their mandates and functions.’
The NMC is chaired by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.
The NCWC Secretariat, which was renamed as the Presidential Office for Maritime Concerns (POMC), will be headed by Centino.
Under Section 8 of the EO, Centino will be the newest member of the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) to represent the NMC.
The NTF-WPS shall be attached to the NMC and receive policy guidance from the President through the council.
Source: Philippines News Agency
