Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday said the quality of the country’s maritime education must be improved amid the decision of the European Union (EU) to continue recognizing the certificates of Filipino seafarers. In a statement, Gatchalian said the EU’s move also acknowledged Philippines’ efforts to boost the state of education for the maritime sector. The European Commission recognized the country’s serious efforts particularly to comply with requirements in key areas such as monitoring, supervision, evaluation of training and assessment. Gatchalian urged concerned agencies to ensure that the training must be provided to seafarers to improve their overall competitiveness. ‘The challenge remains for the Philippines to ensure that our seafarers are globally competitive given their critical role and contribution to the economic growth of the country,’ Gatchalian said, citing that his Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers will be a ‘significant step forward’. Last year, Gatchalian filed Senate Bill No. 822, or an Act seeking to protect Filipino seafarers beyond ‘our borders and build their competency through education and skills training to sustain and improve their overall competitiveness and professional advantage.’ The sea-based remittances in 2021 reached USD6.54 billion, which comprised at least 21 percent of the total dollar remittances of all overseas Filipino workers, and was slightly higher than the 2020 sea-based remittances of USD6.35 billion.
Source: Philippines News Agency