Gov’t unveils key reforms to empower PH sea­farers

Gov’t unveils key reforms to empower PH sea­farers
Dar­win G. Amo­jelar. 10 Apr 2026. Manila Standard. (Via Press Reader)

IN A major move to empower the local mari­time sec­tor, the Mari­time Industry Author­ity (MARINA) has rolled out a land­mark policy to mod­ern­ize licens­ing pro­ced­ures and open new career paths for Filipino sea­farers.

Under Memor­andum Cir­cu­lar No. MD-2026-01, updated stand­ards have been estab­lished for Major Pat­rons, Minor Pat­rons, Boat Cap­tains, Mar­ine Diesel Mech­an­ics and Motor­men.

This revi­sion aligns with Repub­lic Act No. 12021 (Magna Carta of Filipino Sea­farers), ensur­ing that train­ing and cer­ti­fic­a­tion for both com­mer­cial and fish­ing ves­sels remain world-class while becom­ing more access­ible.

“The new policy is designed to elev­ate the com­pet­ency stand­ards of Filipino sea­farers within the domestic trade. By enhan­cing train­ing and assess­ment pro­to­cols, it seeks to safe­guard human life, pro­mote mari­time secur­ity, and ensure the pro­tec­tion of the mar­ine envir­on­ment and prop­erty.”

MARINA said the new policy aims to raise the level of stand­ard of com­pet­ence of Filipino sea­farers in the domestic trade. It also aims to ensure and pro­mote health, safety of life, secur­ity, and pro­tec­tion of mar­ine envir­on­ment and prop­erty by capa­cit­at­ing the domestic sea­farer through train­ing and assess­ment.

The new policy replaces the Cer­ti­fic­ate of Mar­ine Pro­fes­sion (CMP) with a license ID valid for 10 years. Offered without addi­tional fees, this change provides sig­ni­fic­ant con­veni­ence and cost relief to sea­farers.

To boost the pool of skilled onboard per­son­nel, MARINA announced that shore-based engine mech­an­ics may now qual­ify for a Motor­man license. The agency has also ration­al­ized edu­ca­tion and sea ser­vice require­ments to sim­plify the qual­i­fic­a­tion pro­cess while uphold­ing strict com­pet­ency and safety stand­ards.

Fur­ther­more, gradu­ates of BSMT and BSMarE pro­grams (includ­ing AMT, AME, and those with CCIs) are no longer required to undergo addi­tional train­ing, as these require­ments are now fully integ­rated into their aca­demic cur­ricula.

Developed through extens­ive stake­holder con­sulta­tions, the policy aims to increase the num­ber of qual­i­fied officers on Phil­ip­pine-registered ves­sels. By strength­en­ing work­force read­i­ness and enhan­cing mari­time safety, MARINA seeks to cre­ate more job oppor­tun­it­ies, par­tic­u­larly within domestic waters