Maritime
PH is top seafaring country no more , says public interest organization as it urges “ K-12 ” program for seafarers
A public interest and policy research organization urged the Department of Labor and Employment and its agencies , the Professional Regulation Commission , Philippine Overseas Employment Administration , Overseas Workers Welfare Administration , and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority ; and the Maritime Industry Authority and Commission on Higher Education to sit down and jointly consider mapping a “ K-12 ” program for Filipino seafarers to ensure the competitiveness of the Philippines as a maritime torch-bearer in the world .
Speaking at the Balitaan sa Aristocrat press roundtable hosted by veteran media man Melo Acuña , Nicon F . Fameronag , president of the Lilac Center for Public Interest , Inc ., said this is imperative in the light of the country having been relegated to the second position as global supplier of seafarers and the 8.3 percent drop in remittances of seafarers in January 2017 .
“ The Philippines has lost out to China , which is now the world ’ s No . 1 supplier of all seafarers , especially of officers . The Philippines has retained the first spot as the largest supplier of ratings , but
China is close at No . 2 . Sooner or later , if the government does not get its acts together , even Indonesia could eat up our share in the maritime labor market ,” said Fameronag , who is a former DOLE undersecretary for employment and enterprise competitiveness . In 2015 , POEA records show that the Philippines deployed 93,992 officers , a growth of only 0.33 percent over the deployment of officers in 2014 . On the other hand , ratings deployment went down by 4.31 percent , from 154,963 in 2014 to only 148,283 ratings in 2015 . The POEA has no report yet on seafarer deployment for 2016 .
Fameronag said that while the January 2017 seafarers ’ remittances of US $ 410.250 million — lower by 8.3 percent than the US $ 447.466 million Filipino seafarers remitted in January 2016 — do not at all establish a trend , it is a portent of things to come , considering the host of challenges Filipino seafarers face in the global market .
Speaking at the same forum , Capt . Rodolfo D . Estampador of the Maritime Services and Management , Inc ., a leading voice in the Philippine maritime manning sector , validated this observation . He said education and training is the most visible challenge to Filipino
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