SEA-THROUGH: Cadetship quagmire

SEA-THROUGH: Cadetship quagmire
Atty. Brenda V. Pimentel November 20, 2024 https://www.manilatimes.net/2024/11/20/business/maritime/cadetship-quagm...

Second of three parts

(This three-part series constitutes the review of the subject done in collaboration with Capt. Edgardo Flores.)Second of three parts

PURSUING maritime higher education that leads to a Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation (BSMT) or a Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering (BSMarE) diploma is one of the most preferred higher learning programs among the young generation of Filipinos. Underlying this aspiration is the attraction offered by a seafaring career which promises highly-rewarding pay and the adventures that go with sailing the seas and seeing the world; such a passion carries with it the natural affinity of every Filipino with the sea.

However, many who finished their three years of academic and theoretical studies find their seafaring career foiled due to their inability to proceed to onboard training (OBT), a requirement to complete the baccalaureate program. It is therefore not unusual to encounter those who finished the three-year schooling at maritime institutions become tricycle drivers, service crew at fast food establishments or even baggers at grocery stores, citing the same reason for failing to undergo OBT, which is a requirement for graduation.

Philippine maritime education inevitably proceeds from the country's archipelagic makeup, which draws its citizens toward maritime ventures, with seafaring as the most appealing career to young people. Developing the country's maritime human resources is therefore imperative if we are to make progress economically, politically and socially as a sovereign nation; after all, is it not that the Philippines prides itself on being an archipelago, thus giving its people the determination to make the most out of their maritime heritage. The continuing trauma of maritime students who fail to receive their diplomas, plus the despair of hundreds of parents who lose out in their hope of seeing their child receive a baccalaureate degree, is indeed heartbreaking.

As a party to the STCW convention, the Philippines is given the latitude to develop its national administrative, legal and technical regulations conditioned upon the efficacy of such body of laws and regulations in achieving the requisite standards and competence laid down in the convention; accordingly, the Philippines put together the requirements for certification one of which is a BSMT/BSMarE diploma. The seagoing service, which is a requirement for certification under the convention is deemed complied with by those who get a BSMT or BSMarE diploma as an OBT is incorporated in the curriculum.

Practical knowledge, deemed an important aspect in qualifying a seafarer who will assume an officer position, is highlighted by the convention by imposing a seagoing service criterion; nothing in the convention stipulates that seagoing service must form part of the higher education program. Clearly what the convention requires is that the applicant must have rendered a seagoing service prior to the certification process. At the minimum, a review of the curriculum for the aforementioned maritime higher education programs should have been given thorough and comprehensive study for the purpose of nurturing the country's maritime human resources.

Regrettably, in fulfilling its obligation under the STCW convention, the Philippines sets as a minimum standard for maritime higher education that of completing the OBT in the four-year program, a contentious interpretation that puts thousands of maritime students in a helpless situation. Those who support the long-adopted policy of a curriculum that includes OBT contend that such makes the Filipino seafarer competitive; on the contrary, such an approach has an unconscionable impact on many young Filipinos who hitched their dream to a maritime career but are held back by their failure to go on cadetship.

The Philippines aims to fulfill its obligation and commitment of giving full and complete effect to the STCW convention, and the government is confident the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers is the magic wand that will banish the skepticism in the country's implementation of the convention. Still, will RA 12021 eliminate the collateral damage posed to those unable to go on OBT?