As one of the authors of the proposed Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers (House Bill 7325), which the House approved on final reading and sent to the Senate recently, I am glad the debacle with the European Union marine transport authorities has been resolved for now.
Yes, a gargantuan crisis was averted, but there are still some loose ends that continue to threaten the livelihood of many seafarers and future mariners. It is a relief that details of the contentious issues are finally rising to the surface, but more details should be out where sunshine can shed its cleansing rays.
I believe some aspects of the ambulance-chasing issue should be raised with the Supreme Court (SC) because the esteemed Justices and offices responsible for the practice of law may have insights on how those ambulance-chasing aspects can be addressed.
While the Department of Migrant Workers and the SC work out the details, the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) and the maritime schools should work on a parallel track on another persistently recurring set of issues over the decades: the education and training components of the global standards for seafarers.
I believe it is time for Ched to come up with lasting solutions and a maritime education sectoral development plan — complete with multi-year funding. For example, those simulators are capital intensive, meaning they cost a lot of money to acquire and operate. Having qualified, competent faculty also costs money, and the complication is such faculty are not plenty in the labor market.
We also have a small shipbuilding sector. For an archipelagic nation, we invest relatively little to modernize our ships and have compensation and benefits that attract competent graduates of our maritime schools.
We should not put our seafarers and their families through the torment they had to endure these past few years. The time to decisively act on the issues is now.