PH among top providers of seafarers, ships in the world: PCG

PH among top providers of seafarers, ships in the world: PCG
Michael Delizo Sep 22, 2024 https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/26/new-us-visa-application-process-...

MANILA — The Philippines is the fourth largest provider of seafarers and fifth in shipbuilding in the world, a top Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) official said Sunday, as the agency leads the celebration of the 25th National Maritime Week and 29th National Seafarers’ Day.

In a press interview at PCG Headquarters in Manila, Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan said the Philippines should be a steward of international law and the laws of the sea to govern actions and promote an orderly world.

“The world is governed by laws and it remains to be the great leveler of everything,” Gavan said.

“Kapag nakalimutan natin ‘yong batas na nago-govern sa ating lahat, magkakaroon ng hindi masyadong orderly ‘yong mundo.”

(When we forget the laws that govern us all, the world will become less orderly.)

Gavan said Filipinos, as a maritime people in an archipelagic country, should view the seas as bridges of unity rather than sources of division.

“The seas actually are bridges amongst us kahit na hiwa-hiwalay tayo ng islands, because we are archipelagic, we should consider hindi dividing factor ‘yong karagatan,” he said.

(The seas are actually bridges among us, even though we are separated by islands. Because we are an archipelagic nation, we should not consider the ocean a dividing factor.)

As part of the celebrations, Gavan along with families of departed seafarers offered wreaths and prayers in Manila Bay.

The jobs of hundreds of thousands of Filipino seafarers were at risk in late 2022 after an audit by

European Maritime Safety Agency found that training and certification in Philippine maritime education institutions fell short of guidelines mandated by the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers.

The EU announced in May 2023 that it was recognizing the Philippine government's efforts to comply with international standards and would continue to accept Filipino seafarers on European ships.

A proposed Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers for broader protections for mariners has undergone multiple revisions due to contentious escrow and bond provisions for seafarers’ monetary claims in relation to accidents or disability in the line of duty.

Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas in August asked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to veto the bill, saying it has been “watered down” from the original proposal, which she plans to refile at the House.