MARINO Partylist commends President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. for acknowledging the efforts of Filipino seafarers and including the upscale of maritime education in the Philippines as part of the administration’s achievement and plans during his second State of the Nation Address.
PBBM mentioned that maritime education in the Philippines has been strengthened for seafarers to continue to excel. With the country’s reputation as one of the top producers of highly skilled seafarers worldwide, a government in action is what the Filipino mariners need.
“MARINO agrees with the President that there is a need to solidify the Philippines’ position as a global maritime hub. That means having a steady supply of competent Filipino seafarers and a strong shipping industry,” MARINO Rep. Sandro Gonzalez said. “Hence, we value the efforts taken by PBBM’s administration to ensure that our seafarers do not lose any opportunity to go onboard through foreign merchant marine vessels.” He added.
It can be remembered that the recognition of the standards of training of Filipino seafarers has been at a pitfall during the audit reports conducted by the European Commission and other independent auditors. PBBM also stated in his SONA that this matter “has now been resolved after 17 years.”
“We salute the current administration for putting the welfare of the seafarers at the forefront, along with the other priorities of PBBM. We called for a strong support from the President towards the maritime industry and he answered,” MARINO Rep. Gonzalez added. “Thus, MARINO will also do its part to invest in legislative measures that will improve the quality of life of our seafarers.” He said.
Currently, one of the priority House Bills that MARINO is working on is the Maritime Education and Training Act which is parallel to the propositions of PBBM in his SONA.