Question & AnswerQ&A (PHTBP MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 01-05)
The authority is Section 1 (C) & 3 (l), 5 and 6 of RA No. 5173 (the Coast Guard Law) and Presidential Decree 601.
It applies to all aids to navigation, regulatory markings, obstruction buoys or beacons owned and/or maintained by private parties, associations, and other government agencies established or installed in navigable waters of the Philippines.
Private Aids to Navigation are aids authorized by the Philippine Coast Guard but established, administered, operated, and maintained by private parties, associations, or other government agencies, including the Philippine Ports Authority, in navigable waters of the Philippines.
Navigable waters are those waters navigable in fact which, alone or connected with other waters, form a continuous highway suitable for inter-island or international commerce in the customary mode of water trade and travel.
The lateral system uses buoys, day beacons, and minor lights marked with colors and numbers to define navigable channels, with green on the port side and red on the starboard side when entering port, as per the International Maritime Buoyage System Region B.
No, no person, public body, or instrumentality shall establish any aid to maritime navigation without first obtaining permission from the Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard.
The fees include an application fee of P1,000 and a registration fee that varies: P3,000 for unlighted buoy, P5,000 for lighted buoy, and P7,500 for beacon.
The registered owner shall pay a fine of P50,000 for violation of continuous operation requirements and P1,000 for each succeeding day of continued violation.
No, operation of electronic aids to navigation as private aids will not be authorized except for shore-based radar stations.
It is a violation to obstruct, interfere with, take possession of, alter, deface, destroy, move, injure, or obstruct any aid to navigation established and maintained by the Philippine Coast Guard or any authorized private aids to navigation.