After saying that the Philippines will comply with EU standards for seafarers, President Marcos now orders the creation of an advisory board.
PRESIDENT MARCOS – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the creation of an advisory board to prevent job losses for Pinoy seafarers.
Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. vowed that the Philippines will comply with the deficiencies in the country’s maritime education. These deficiencies have put some 50,000 Filipino seafarers at risk of losing their jobs, specifically, those who were deployed on European Union (EU) vessels.
He said that the country will comply with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW Convention). To recall, the EU earlier flagged the country for lacking local seafarer training and education.
“It’s not something you can debate about. You comply. We’ll have to comply. So that we will be accredited,” he said.
And just recently, he had a meeting with international maritime employers and various shipowners here. During the meeting, he assured the European Union’s transport officials that the government is now doing something to comply with the required standard.
He ordered the creation of an advisory board. He sees that this will help with the said concern. The council will be composed of government agencies, international shipowners, and other stakeholders according to the ABS-CBN report.
As much as many are aware, the country has produced thousands of personnel to man the EU vessels. However, in the past years, the Philippines also repeatedly failed to pass the EMSA evaluation.
Pinoy seafarers are the leading contributor to the country’s economy. In 2020, they have remitted $6.353 billion and $6.54 billion in the last year which had a significant increase of 3 percent.
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