At the BEACON 2023 Maritime Conference and Exhibition of the Maritime League launching on board BRP Gabriela Silang on 28-March-2023 at Pier 13 South Harbor, the Department of Transportation Undersecretary – Maritime Sector Elmer Francisco Sarmiento gave a speech. Here it is in its entirety.

Vice Admiral Eduardo Santos, president and board chairman of The Maritime League; Admiral Artemio Abu, commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard;

Other officers of The Maritime League and the Philippine Coast Guard;

The new members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary Executive Squadron;

Media friends, honored guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good Morning.

I would like to acknowledge and thank The Maritime League for organizing this launching ceremony for the upcoming Philippine International Maritime Conference and Exhibition, which is now named BEACON 2023.

Launching this conference and exhibition on board this vessel, the BRP Gabriela Silang, directs focus on the role of the Philippine Coast Guard at preserving safety and security in Philippine waters, which clearly supports the objective of The Maritime League – promoting maritime development and safety.

Initiatives like BEACON 2023 that is scheduled in September this year can be a prime occasion to redefine the direction of the maritime industry from the private sector perspective in this post- pandemic era.

The collaboration of various stakeholders lends timely support to the efforts of the Department of Transportation at pushing for much-needed reforms to an industry charged with the cost- efficient and safe movement of people and goods across our archipelago.
These industry reforms will help us elevate Philippine maritime to global standards.

As honorary chairman of The Maritime League, I urge this maritime foundation, with the support of its various partners, to help us identify international standards with which we can benchmark the operations of our agencies towards enhancing the level of passenger and customer service.

When borders reopened, the race to recapture pre-pandemic business dynamism should provoke the MARINA, the Coast Guard and the Philippine Ports Authority to level up their game by coming up with creative and inspiring initiatives that will reconnect our islands and boost the national economic rebound.

We cannot afford to miss the momentum of this economic renaissance but moreso, we should not abandon blue economy advocacy over the pursuit of rapid progress.

I strongly encourage our partners and stakeholders to anchor their individual efforts at preserving our maritime resources. No one else will do that for us.

Eco-friendly initiatives should not remain on paper – alternative fuels must be sought and used; coastal cleanup must be regular, with or without an oil spill; shipbuilding and ship repair should respect the environment; waste management should not be the usual; and more.
I hope BEACON 2023 will result to heightened awareness of our responsibility to actively care for our marine resources.

Your goals of improved yields should now be tempered by the inconvenient truth of climate change. It is here … now. What are we going to do about it?

Let me know your answer at BEACON 2023. Thank you and good morning.