Bringing maritime education closer to Mindanao’s youth

Bringing maritime education closer to Mindanao’s youth
Yashika F. Torib May 12, 2021 https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/05/12/business/maritime-business/bringi...

DAVAO is among the handful of cities in the country that has world-class maritime education. At the core of its history is the Davao Merchant Marine Academy ( DMMA) College of Southern Philippines whose reputation as one of the country’s best began in the early 90s at the height of the seafaring boom.

Sitting at the heart of the academy is Rogelio Paramio, a veteran ship captain whose fate in the world of shipping transcended the reality and inequities of life.

At a time when dreaming of a college degree was only the most he could do for his future, Paramio received a brochure with a short but intriguing message — ‘Take Nautical and See the World for Free.’ He would have taken the invite right then and there if not for the financial incapacity of his family to simultaneously send all children to college and the glaring fact that there are no maritime schools in Mindanao.

The following year in 1973 as fate would seemingly have it, Paramio found himself onboard a domestic ship sailing towards Cebu City. He was to study Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation at the University of Visayas the same year that the school introduced a maritime course for the first time.

Four stripes and 17 years later, Paramio has reached the pinnacle of every seafarer’s career. As a ship captain who traveled and moved the world, he finally decided to bring maritime education closer to his fellow Davaoenos.

“We started laying the foundation of DMMA in 1993. We intended to establish a maritime institution that can produce qualified and competent maritime graduates who will be future merchant marine officers and engineers,” Paramio said.

From the initial challenge of constructing the school building to upholding its world-class maritime education, DMMA has since earned the reputation of the South’s seat of maritime education.

“Consistency, dedication, human relations, and keeping abreast with the trends of maritime education are the factors that we instituted to constantly produce some of the world’s best cadets,” he said.

With the limitations and re-engineered modalities of learning in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, DMMA continues to ride the tides of time. As with many schools in provinces, it is presently struggling from unstable Internet connectivity for both teachers and students, the difficulty of some to adapt to technology, and the uncertainty as to whether students are the ones accomplishing their outputs.

After more than two decades of serving with DMMA, Paramio continues to strive and elevate its standards. He is now the Vice President for Maritime Education of the academy.

Behind all these accomplishments, however, is a man of simple and humble temperament.

“I am simply ‘Jing’ to my family and friends. I came from a family of farmers in Bansalan, Davao Del Sur and this modest way of life inspired me to keep a low profile and be approachable to people from all walks of life,” he conclude