Senator Joel Villanueva on Thursday said at least 30,000 Filipino seafarers abroad are at risk of losing their jobs if the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) is still not properly implemented in the country's maritime education, training, and certification systems.
This prompted Villanueva to call on the heads of the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) to save the Filipino seafarer sector from "drowning" due to adverse findings of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) from issues regarding the state of maritime higher education in the country.
"Our seafarers greatly contribute to our economy, especially during the pandemic. Let's save this sector from drowning. Let's keep our Filipino seafarers world class by following international standards," the lawmaker said.
The European Union gave MARINA a deadline of up to March 10, 2022 to respond to the reported deficiencies, especially in the use of simulators and on-board training when EMSA conducted their audit in the Philippines.
The agency's response will be the basis for the European Commission's judgment on whether it will continue recognizing the certificates of competence of Filipino seafarers working on European-flagged vessels.
"If we cannot comply or if we receive a negative assessment, MARINA should answer to the thousands of our seafarers who are at risk of losing their jobs. We hope it does not come to that scenario," Villanueva said.
In 2006, Villanueva's camp said EMSA audited the country and found that there were maritime training institutions that were non-compliant to the STCW.
The same audit findings were reflected in EMSA assessments in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2017. The latest audit for this year will be the final decision before the EU recognition is removed due to the country's non-compliance with the STCW.
"The EMSA audit findings required a response in terms of corrective actions. Did MARINA execute the corrective actions to the satisfaction of the requirements of the STCW?" he said.