MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Good morning, Malacañang Press Corps. Happy Easter to all. I hope you all enjoyed your long weekend and had a meaningful Holy Week.
So welcome to our press briefing today, April 11. To start the week, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. led a sectoral meeting this morning para pag-usapan ang accomplishments ng Department of Transportation from June 2022 and the projects to be completed bago ang ikalawang State-of-the-Nation Address of the president this year.
Pinag-usapan din ang continued recognition of the European Union sa Philippines’ Standards of Trainings, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW). And to tell us more about this, kasama natin ngayon sina DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista, CHEd Chairperson Prospero de Vera, and MARINA Administrator Hernani Fabia. Let’s start with Secretary Bautista.
DOTR SEC. BAUTISTA: Good morning, Daphne. Good morning, Chairman de Vera. Good morning, MARINA Administrator Fabia.
This morning, we had a sectoral meeting with the President, and we reported to him the continuous recognition by the European Union of the certificate for seafarers issued by MARINA. And the President acknowledged the good gesture and good decision of the European Union because that would mean a continuous employment for around 50,000 seafarers in Europe.
We also talked about how we will move forward, considering that there are still some issues that we need to address. And here with us, Chairman de Vera and Administrator Fabia had also given their inputs on how to move forward ‘no. So maybe we can ask Attorney Fabia and Chairman de Vera how we will be able to sustain the continued recognition of the certificates issued by the Philippine government to our seafarers, especially those working in European Union countries.
MARINA ADMINISTRATOR FABIA: Thank you, sir, Secretary Bautista.
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.
But then, the recognition is valid only—not valid. 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.
CHED CHAIRPERSON DE VERA III: Yeah, in behalf of the Commission, we are both happy and relieved that after 16 years, the EU has taken note of our compliance with the observations. And we thank the leadership of President Marcos who took this up in two Cabinet meetings and gave instructions to all the agencies to really push for the compliance and, of course, Secretary Bautista and DOTr for working together with CHEd. 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.
And there are observations that still need to be complied with, and the Commission will work with MARINA and DOTr to make sure all the identified observations will be resolved as soon as possible. Thank you.
MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. We’ll open the floor; first question, Maricel Halili/TV 5.
MARICEL HALILI/TV5: Hi, sir. Good morning po. Secretary Bautista mentioned earlier that there are still some issues that we need to address. Can you elaborate on that? Anu-ano po iyong mga issues na kailangan pang i-address following iyong recognition pa po ng EU?
MARINA ADMINISTRATOR FABIA: It was specified here in the letter that there are six issues like monitoring, supervision and evaluation of manning and training and assessment; examination and assessment of competence; program and course design and approval; availability and use of training facilities and simulators; onboard training; and issue, revalidation and registration of certificates and endorsements.
If I may add, these issues that we are going to improve are also a topic or the concern … or these findings as stated by the independent evaluators. As of now, there are two—the Philippines has two audits or inspection or evaluation – one is for the European Union or European Commission and the other one is for the continuous Philippine inclusion in the whitelist, IMO whitelist.
In the European Commission, there are at least 27 countries involved. In the IMO-considered whitelist, there are 167 countries that will decide for our inclusion. So, we have already submitted to the IMO and the items that I mentioned earlier were already addressed and in fact we have done it already, okay.
CHED CHAIRPERSON DE VERA III: Just to answer Maricel’s question ‘no. Several very basic things: number one, we have an enhanced curriculum that has been put together by MARINA, CHEd and the maritime higher education institutions – we must make sure it is implemented correctly so the enhanced curriculum satisfies compliance with standards of the SPCW; number two, we must be able to monitor all the maritime schools not just in implementing the curriculum but making sure they have the equipment that is necessary, they have competent teachers, they have good facilities so that the intended competencies and outcomes can be measured correctly and satisfy the standards of MSA.
That means we have a lot of work to do in monitoring and evaluating all the maritime education institutions in the country. We have to monitor all of them and use instruments of monitoring and evaluation that satisfies not just our standards in the Philippines but standards of the EU. Now, that monitoring instrument has to be developed and improved. And number three, we must make sure that all the requirements to produce a good seafarer are there including onboard or shipboard training so that we make sure at the end of the whole process, we produce seafarers that are up to the standards – international standards.
It’s a lot of work because we have a lot of maritime education institutions and this has to be a joint effort of MARINA, CHEd … we’ve put the Coast Guard also as our partner because they’re located all over the country and you have to go to each institution and evaluate them. So we are thankful that the EU has promised as Secretary Bautista had said, that they will give grants to assist us to comply and one of the things that we will propose or we’ll propose on the part of CHEd is to develop monitoring and evaluation instruments that satisfy international standards.
And we train those who will do the evaluation and monitoring, we have to meet with the universities or the maritime schools to make sure they understand what is being monitored so they will give the correct documents so that they will be open to being evaluated. This has to be an effort of everyone in the community, all the stakeholders – this is not just the job of one government agency.
MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Eden Santos, Net 25.
EDEN SANTOS/NET25: Sir, good morning po. On the part of the universities and other ano po ‘no na involved dito sa seafaring industry. Ang sinasabi po nila parang nakakapag-comply naman sila doon sa mga hinihingi but the problem is mukhang nagkakaroon po ng problema sa mga implementing agencies – hindi nila alam kung alin ba… nagawa na nila ‘to tapos biglang another issue na naman kaya para pong nalilito din sila. At saka sinasabi nila parang, “Ano ba ‘to, another gastos…” pinagkakaperahan lang sila, something like that. Is it true?
CHED CHAIRPERSON DE VERA III: Well, that is not completely true because we closed down 15 maritime programs already. If it’s true that everyone is compliant with standards then we should not have been able to close 15 maritime programs. We’re very strict, the technical panel and our technical evaluators have gone through the programs and we have closed 15 over the past year and a half. So, there are programs that are non-compliant. Yeah.
EDEN SANTOS/NET25: Are there more institutions po na hindi pa rin nakakasunod or nakakapag-comply doon sa hinihinging standard ng EU?
CHED CHAIRPERSON DE VERA III: We will wait for the [unclear] of evaluation. I don’t know we’ll have to wait after DOTr, MARINA, you know, we go through the schools again and we will find out whether all the schools are compliant. Mahirap kasi i-evaluate lahat, marami masyado.
EDEN SANTOS/NET 25: So, iyon pong pinaka-directive ngayon ng Pangulo para naman po maka-comply tayo sa standard ng EU ay papaano po iyong ating gagawin upang after 10 years hindi na po mangamba ulit iyong ating seafarers baka biglang ma-blacklist na naman ang Pilipinas sa European ships?
CHED CHAIRPERSON DE VERA III: Hindi na dapat umabot ng 10 years. Ang pangako namin sa Pangulo ay agad-agad na tututukan lahat ng natitirang non-compliant at gagawing compliant as fast as we can.
MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Ivan Mayrina, GMA 7.
IVAN MAYRINA/GMA 7: Sirs, may I ask what interventions, programs, measures are we going to put in place or have put in place to make sure that we don’t find ourselves in the same situation na nanganganib po o manganganib iyong trabaho ng 50,000 or more seafarers na mga Pilipino sa mga European flag vessels?
CHED CHAIRPERSON DE VERA III: Marami. Number one, we have a very good working relationship with MARINA now. I think if there’s one big difference between now and before is that in everything that we do, it is a joint effort. The technical panel on maritime education is chaired by MARINA and we defer to the expertise of MARINA especially on equipment, especially on standards and everything that we do is joint; hindi masyadong ganiyan dati. So, that’s a big difference because if you don’t agree on many things, you lose a lot of time you know, arguing between the two of you; ngayon, maganda iyong samahan.
Ikalawa, we already declared a five-year moratorium on new programs – ibig sabihin, for the next five years starting when we declared it last year, we will not allow any new maritime programs to be opened so that we will be able to focus on evaluating the existing programs. Mahirap kasi kung wala kang moratorium, habang ini-evaluate mo iyong existing nag-i-evaluate ka din ng bago, parang walang katapusan iyan.
This is the first time that we declare a moratorium on maritime education and in the whole history of maritime education. That shows our seriousness, on the part of CHEd and MARINA, that we want to really look at all the programs. So, that is to give us sufficient time to do the evaluation.
Number three, doon sa part ng CHEd, we already commissioned the Center for Educational Management to craft an assessment test that we can use or that the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) can use to better assess the preparedness of students who will go into maritime programs. Gagawa tayo ng parang assessment tool to guide them para iyong pumapasok na mga estudyante ay mas fit doon sa kanilang pupuntahan ‘no, so we expect that. Iyong Center for Educational Management is the one that also does the NMAT (National Medicine Admission Test) in medicine, so they’re very good. We want to make sure the assessment abides with international standards.
So, we’re helping the higher education institutions having maritime education to prepare better for their maritime programs.
MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Leth Narciso, DZRH.
LETH NARCISO/DZRH: Sir, may regular monitoring po ba kayo dito sa maritime schools, kasi sabi ninyo nga buong bansa ito so medyo challenging; tuwing kailan ninyo po ginagawa?
CHED CHAIRPERSON DE VERA III: Whole year-round. Kailangan namin ng dagdag na tao kasi marami. That’s why kami ni Secretary Bautista will have to look for additional allies to help monitor compliance kasi hindi naman ganoon kadami ang staff ng CHEd, hindi rin ganoon kadami ang staff ng MARINA and the schools are located all over the country.
MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay, any more questions? Okay, Pia Gutierrez, ABS-CBN.
PIA GUTIERREZ/ABS-CBN: Hi, sir. Sir, in a statement, si Senator Grace Poe is pushing for a continuous skills training for seafarers. Is there an existing program for it, and also is this possible also as part of efforts to step up iyong industry?
MARINA ADMINISTRATOR FABIA: We have the upskilling and reskilling of our seafarers in preparation for the decarbonization and also those with greenhouse gas effects – those are matters that need to be upskilled and reskilled because sooner or later all ships must be decarbonized. So, for that purpose the best venue for that, for retraining would be the National Maritime Polytechnic.
The National Maritime Polytechnic was established way back in first quarter of 2000 under the DOLE. Because during that time, DOLE was in charge of STCW compliance. So, the facilities in MNP are really suited for up-skilling and re-skilling our seafarers for the training of our maritime trainers and educators. And for maritime research just as it’s being done in other countries, they have the maritime research and development division unit. Unfortunately, it was included in the transfer from DOLE to the DMW, so it’s under now the DMW. So, we have to talk to the DMW, if we have to have MNP, it is best suited for our purposes, maritime education.
CHED CHAIRPERSON DE VERA III: On the part of CHED, we are assisting the faculty members in the maritime schools on the training side, it’s MARINA who is responsible. But we have what we call CHED Project ACE, this Advancing Competencies for Excellence, it’s a program that we have launched for faculty members, and course developers to gain additional knowledge and skills in designing programs, upgrading their capability, and developing manuals that the faculty members will use to improve their teaching in the maritime schools.
Q: Hi, po. This question is for Mr. Hernani Fabia sa MARINA. Sir, another topic po sana. Sir, sabi ninyo before na may fact-finding. Sabi ng MARINA before, may fact-finding committee sa MT Princess Empress regarding doon sa claims na newly-constructed siya. May update po ba regarding dito?
MARINA ADMINISTRATOR FABIA: No, we have created a fact-finding team to do that and until now they have not reported. Because there are three. The fact-finding team must go to Region V, which is in Sorsogon and Bicol. He has to go to the NCR and Batangas, Region IV. They have also to visit the shipyards that were supposedly constructed then. So, we have to validate.
Q: Kailan po kaya iyong tinitingnan natin na timeframe dito, ilang months?
MARINA ADMINISTRATOR FABIA: No, not months, maybe the middle of this month or late of this month. We will have the result of the fact-finding team.
Q: Pero so far, ngayon, sir, may mga raw details po kaya tayo na makaka-help doon sa fact-finding committee natin?
MARINA ADMINISTRATOR FABIA: Huwag muna. I would suggest that we have to wait kasi there is so many information that has not been verified. So, I don’t want to add more misinformation.
ALVIN BALTAZAR/PBS: Magandang umaga po, sirs. I would like to address my question kay Secretary Bautista. Secretary, sabi po ninyo kanina, napag-usapan sa pulong kanina iyong mga projects na kinakailangang ihabol sa darating na SONA. Ilan po kaya ito, iyong mga ihinahabol bago iyong State of the Nation Address? And can you name a few, sir, para hindi naman ano?
DOTR SEC. BAUTISTA: Well, we have reported to the President our projects that can be completed before the SONA and most of these are aviation and road sector projects and maritime projects. We are looking at completing airport maintenance, around 18 airports in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao must be completed; the projects will be completed by June.
We also reported ports that will be completed before June, around 20 of these. And, of course, road sector projects, which will include the construction of the mga bike lanes and there are more projects for example in the rail sector. We have reported the finalization of different contract packages for the North-South Commuter Railway, also contract packages that we signed for the Metro Manila Subway. And also we reported developments as far as the completion of some railway projects like, for example, itong MRT-7 which we expect to be completed by June of 2025.
Also, the extension of LRT-1 from Baclaran to Sucat, which we expect to be completed by 2024. So, these are more projects on aviation, maritime, road sector, and rails.
MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. So thank you for the updates, for the updates in the maritime sector and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s priority concern for seafarers, of course, the Philippines being one of the top suppliers of marine labor in the world. So, thank you Secretary Jaime Bautista, CHED Chairperson Prospero De Vera and MARINA Administrator Hernani Fabia.
Thank you, Malacañang Press Corps. Have a good afternoon.
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News and Information Bureau – Transcription Section
