The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) congratulates CG COMMANDER  (CDR) JOMARK ANGUE for being the FIRST PCG OFFICER who completed MASTER OF ARTS IN SECURITY STUDIES (COMBATING TERRORISM: POLICY AND STRATEGY) at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California from 13 December 2020 to 25 March 2022.

CG Commander Angue was one of the 24 foreign military students out of the 248 students who took the course, and one of the five officers who earned the said degree.

The curriculum helped the students in formulating policies on counterterrorism. It provided an opportunity for the students to combine a regional focus with comparative courses and to understand the nature and dynamics of terrorist organizations, as well as domestic and international variables involved in the formulation of counterterrorism policies.

“As terrorist groups around the world are changing in terms of their recruitments, training, operations, and tactics, the PCG must have the capacity to understand the evolution of terrorism and the relevance of their ideology to the activities they are advocating. Combatting terrorism does not always equate to traditional military-like operations. Thus, the PCG needs more personnel who can help the organization in keeping its counterterrorism doctrines and policies accustomed to the current threats of terrorism,” CG Commander Angue expressed.

Relatedly, CG CDR ANGUE wrote a thesis entitled “DEPLOYMENT OF SEA MARSHALS ONBOARD PASSENGER FERRIES: THE PHILIPPINE STRATEGY TO FIGHT TERRORISM AT SEA” which studied the effectiveness of the existing Sea Marshal program in the country in addressing the evolving threats of terrorism. It also proposed the needed revamp of the concept of operations for better command and control and cost-effective utilization of government resources and manpower.

Furthermore, his work compared the Philippines’ Sea Marshal program with the U.S. Federal Air Marshal program, as well as with the maritime security programs of the U.S. Coast Guard.

It recommended that appropriate legislation must be enacted to legitimize the designation of the PCG as the lead national agency for the security of sea transport and maritime infrastructure. This is to give the organization strong legal backing in directing other agencies to take part in the Sea Marshal program.