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MARINA AUTHORITIES PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS
WITH THE NEW MARITIME LAW
Sword of Damocles Hangs Over Seafarers
By: Susan Amoroso and Ver M. Garcia

2. With Marina Chief Dr. Mejia at the hearing conducted recently at Phil. Ports Authority in
Manila. (Photo by Teddy Cho).
The Philippines is not yet off the hook with the new rulings set by the European
Commission (EC) in a protracted rule issuing a sustaining and broad based diplomatic
offensive with a stern warning in the form of European withdrawal of recognition of the
Philippines issuing certificates of Standard of Training and Certification & Watch keeping of
Seafarers (STCW). Which means a potential loss of approximately 82,000 jobs for the
seafarers working on EU ships will be imperiled.
Based on the maritime audit and evaluations of European Maritime Safety Agency
(EMSA), after a series of auditing from the year 2006 up to the present. The Philippines did
not performed well in the strict implementation of the STCW 2010 Manila amendments
which explicitly mandates the MARINA to publish from time to time updated listings of
training schools compliant with the STCW 2010 agreement and, phasing out of non
compliant and below standard maritime training program.The new MARINA
LAW(R.A.10635) together w/ its recently drafted IRR or Implementing Rules and
Regulations. After a careful public consultation together with the Multi Lateral Technical
Working Group (MTWG) at the Phil. Ports Authority Gender and Development Center held
recently at Bonifacio Drive in Port6 Area, Manila. MARINA was mandated and empowered
and expected to exert more efforts in informing the public on the status of all maritime
schools nationwide and the consequences of enrolling in a non-compliant Maritime Higher
Educational Institutions (MHEI's).
The due diligence and serious efforts of the MARINA authorities and the government
as well was noted by the Committee on Safe Seas and the Prevention of Pollution from Ships
(COSS) and the overall assessment was not solely based on the findings and reports of
EMSA. The COSS however, gave a favorable decision but requested the Philippine
authorities to take positive actions to address the remaining shortcomings and report
regularly. With the forthcoming EMSA audit/inspection, tentatively scheduled this
September 29 to October 3, 2014. The country's future seafarers faith lies in a balance with
the EC's warning as the sword of damocles hangs over our country's seafarers.###