Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the goal now of his agency is to make the Philippines "the Maritime Capital of the World by supplying the "seafarers of choice for the global maritime industry."
Bautista, who announced his department's goal Wednesday, Nov. 23, noted there over 600,000 Filipino seafarers who are contributing to the socio-economic development of the country, keeping the economy afloat at the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic, he pointed out.
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The maritime sector is vital in an archipelagic country such as the Philippines, Secretary Bautista reiterated.
Hence, the DOTr is strengthening its maritime sector agencies, such as the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA).
The MARINA's 10-year Maritime Development Plan (MIDP), in particular, can boost the Philippines’ maritime industry by a hundred percent within six years
The MIDP will increase the sector's contribution to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from P720 billion to date to P1.44 trillion.
It will increase the country's production capacity in shipbuilding and ship repair; upgrade maritime technologies, develop and expand shipping and maritime tourism routes, as well as improve higher maritime education and training programs.
Overall, the DOTr plans to reform the Philippine Maritime Industry to be at par with global standards and become the Maritime Capital of the World, Bautista reiterated.
"We did not fail the assessments of the European Maritime Safety Agency and by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Independent Evaluation," he pointed out.
"Their findings are seriously being addressed and corrective measures are being put in place," he assured.