BY DANIE MAE FAJARDO-DELA CRUZ
MANILA – The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) fully supports the actions being taken by concerned government agencies to ensure compliance with international maritime standards particularly on the education, training and certification of Filipino seafarers.
DMW secretary Susan Ople also lauded President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. “for his continuing guidance and overwhelming concern for the well-being of all Filipino seafarers.”
She belied reports that the President excluded the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) from the task overseeing maritime training and accreditation as the country continued to fail the evaluation of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) for the past 16 years.
An estimated 50,000 Filipino seafarers working in European vessels could lose their jobs should the government again fail to comply with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers.
“The President never ordered MARINA to be removed as an implementing agency nor did I ever say this in any interview,” stressed Ople in reaction to a story in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on presidential directives regarding the EMSA Audit Report.
According to Ople, “The directive of the President was for various agencies led by the Department of Transportation (DoTr) to come up with a joint implementation plan to address the concerns raised by the European Maritime Safety Agency.”
“The Department of Migrant Workers, as well as the Maritime Industry Authority, as an attached agency of the DoTr, were included in that directive,” she stressed.
The deadline for the country to address the issues raised by EMSA was set for this month, the House committee on overseas workers was told during a recent hearing at the House of Representatives./PN
