By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Negros Occidental commander, Captain Ludovico Librilla, confirmed over the weekend that the PCG Southern Visayas District has been deactivated.

According to Librilla, the PCG Southern Visayas District is the only agency which has not returned to their mother region when President Rodrigo Duterte dissolved the Negros Island Region (NIR) in August of 2017.

Librilla also sighted a problem with regards to the Commission on Audit (COA) as it is unclear as to which region the PCG stations under the district belong due to the dissolution of the NIR.

Because of this, the PCG has decided to temporarily deactivate the district.

The deactivation came into effect on February 8, 2021 during a turnover ceremony held in Cebu City.

With the deactivation of the Southern Visayas District, Librilla said the PCG stations in Negros Oriental and Siquijor island returned back to their mother unit which is the PCG District Central Visayas, while PCG-Negros Occidental was placed under the PCG Western Visayas District.

He further noted the deactivation could only be temporary and that the PCG Southern Visayas District could be reactivated again anytime once the issue with COA is resolved./DGB, WDJ