The regular conduct of rotation and resupply missions (RoRe) to Ayungin Shoal will now require the approval of President Marcos, according to Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Commodore Jay Tarriela.
Tarriela said National Security Adviser (NSA) Eduardo Año, in his capacity as chairperson of the National Task Force (NTF) on the WPS, gave him instructions to clarify this matter following the second meeting of the National Maritime Council in Malacañang last Friday.
The council meeting was held after Marcos ordered concerned Cabinet secretaries to discuss with him the June 17 incident in Ayungin Shoal, which left many servicemen from the Philippine Navy injured.
“The policy recommendation that was mentioned by the Executive Secretary (Lucas Bersamin), being the chair of the National Maritime Council, is that we will be announcing the routine resupply operations, subject to the approval of our President,” Tarriela said at a news forum on Saturday.
During the Saturday briefing, Tarriela said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and PCG would be working together for the conduct of future resupply missions. He said the RoRe activities would continue in collaboration with agencies under the NTF-WPS.
Tarriela underscored that the resupply operation remains to be considered as an ordinary, legitimate, and routine operation of the AFP.
Bersamin on Friday said he saw nothing wrong with announcing RoRe missions as this has been on the part of the Philippines.
“So, in the best interest of all parties, I think it was a wise decision for the President to accept our recommendation to publicize the schedule for activities without giving up anything. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Bersamin said in the recent Palace briefing.