The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) on Tuesday said the European Commission’s decision to continue recognizing certificates for seafarers has given the country a “clean slate” to start with.
“First, I would like to clarify that the recognition of the Philippine government by the European Commission is a normal recognition. That means there is no condition; it is not grey matter. It is a regular recognition issued by EC, and we have a clean slate to start with,” MARINA Administrator Atty. Hernani Fabia said in a press briefing in Malacañang.
“The recognition is good for ten years, subject to reassessment and monitoring by the EMSA. So that’s why we have also to conduct regular trainings and capacity building for our stakeholders and our marine personnel,” the MARINA chief said.
Last month, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport extended its recognition of the Philippine government’s maritime education, training and certification for seafarers after taking note of the country’s actions in addressing some of its serious deficiencies.
In a letter received on March 31, Director-General Henrik Hololei told MARINA that the EU Commission had assessed the actions taken by the Philippine government to address the deficiencies in the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW Convention) and Code.
“Based on the answers of the Republic of the Philippines and on all available information, the Commission has concluded that the measures taken demonstrate concrete progress and improvement as regards the compliance with the requirements of the STCW Convention,” Hololei noted.
“The outcome of the analysis allows the EU to extend the recognition of the Republic of Philippines STCW system. Nevertheless, the services of the European Commission consider that there are still issues to be addressed,” the EU official said, noting that they expect the Philippine government to continue improving in other areas of the system.
In the same briefing, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chair J. Prospero De Vera III said the commission will work with MARINA and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) “to make sure all the identified observations will be resolved as soon as possible.”
De Vera expressed gratitude to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for giving directives to all agencies “to really push for the compliance.”
“This is really a team effort because this problem has been there for so long. And with the recognition of EU of our efforts, we assure continued employment for our 50,000 seafarers in EU ships,” the CHED chief said. #
