National Security Adviser Eduardo Año assured on Friday, September 20, that the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) deployed a vessel to replace BRP Teresa Magbanua near Escoda Shoal, also known as Sabina Shoal, in the West Philippine Sea.
Año said that the replacement vessel temporarily took shelter due to inclement weather.
The government official vowed that the PCG, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, as well as the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources will continue to patrol the West Philippine Sea in order to defend Filipino fisherfolk, and the sovereign rights of the country in the area.
Año refused to disclose whether the ship will also anchor at the Escoda Shoal but said that the PCG has a plan to protect the area.
"We will make sure that our presence in Sabina Shoal and other areas in the West Philippines Sea are always there," Año said during an ambush interview in Sangley Point in Cavite.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin announced on Sunday, September 15, that BRP Teresa Magbanua, the largest vessel of the PCG, left the Escoda Shoal, and sailed back to Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
BRP Teresa Magbanua stayed at the Escoda Shoal for more than five months.
Bersamin assured that the BRP Teresa Magbanua will return to the Escoda Shoal after undergoing repairs, and repleneshing supplies.
