Seafarers’ group: Issue with EU caused by inconsistencies in PH maritime industry

Seafarers’ group: Issue with EU caused by inconsistencies in PH maritime industry
CNN Philippines Staff Apr 3, 2023 https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2023/4/3/seafarer-group-inconsistenc...

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 3) — The inconsistencies in the management of the Philippine maritime industry resulted in the country’s long-standing issue with the European Commission, a seafarers’ group said on Monday.

Speaking to CNN Philippines’ The Source, Vice Admiral Eduardo Santos, vice president of the Associated Marine Officer's and Seamen's Union of the Philippines (AMOSUP), said the issues started in 2006 when the Philippines only had four non-conformities.

“Like any inspector or customer, you keep telling your supplier that these are the things we need to improve, and your supplier says yes, yes, yes, [but] does not do anything about it. So, they keep coming back and nothing is happening. I guess they got fed up… because they saw the increasing number of deficiencies,” he explained.

On Friday, the European Commission for Transport announced that it will continue recognizing the seafarers’ certificate issued by the Philippine government after it saw efforts from Manila to comply with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW).

The commission, however, said the Philippines still has six deficiencies that should be addressed. These are monitoring, supervision, and evaluation of training, examination and assessment of competence, program and course design, availability and use of training facilities and simulators, on-board training, and issue, revalidation, and registration of certificates.

Asked how the problems started, Santos said it may be due to the frequently changing leadership in the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) in the last 13 years.

The nine administrators that MARINA had in the past years affected how matters were managed and how the agency dealt with its stakeholders, he noted.

The change in leadership also affected the curriculum for maritime schools that changed five times, Santos added.

“I guess it depended on who was in MARINA and CHED (Commission on Higher Education),” Santos said. “I see a problem here… MARINA was given the sole administration of maritime, however, MARINA is not an education facility, it’s the CHED.”

Santos also said the inconsistencies have to be ironed out to improve coordination among agencies involved and to ensure the welfare of seafarers.

In a statement on Monday, CHED Chairperson Prospero de Vera said the agency is ready to work with MARINA and maritime institutions “to fully implement the needed reforms based on the areas identified by the EU in its letter to guarantee that our graduates continue to be hired in international vessels.”

Efforts have also been implemented to address the issues, including curricular reforms, examination and assessment, ship board training and capacity-building training for CHED, MARINA and maritime higher education institution, he said.

A five-year moratorium on the opening of new maritime programs was also implemented to make sure proper review existing schools, De Vera said.

According to the Department of Migrant Workers, 490,000 Filipino seafarers were deployed in 2022, almost double the 270,000 deployed in 2020.