1. MARCIAL Q. C. AMARO III, Ph.D.
Administrator
27th Annual General Assembly
December 2, 2016

2. [Outline of Presentation]
The Maritime Industry Authority
Regulation I/8 of the STCW Convention, as amended
Independent evaluation
Effect on PH Maritime Education and Training
Strategic directions
This presentation will cover the following topics:
A backgrounder on the mandates of the Maritime Industry Authority
A briefer on the STCW Convention, as amended and its Regulation I/8 pertaining to Quality Standards
The Philippine maritime administration undergoing independent evaluation as an obligation under Regulation I/8 of the STCW Convention, as amended
The effect of the Regulation I/8 of the STCW Convention to the current standards of maritime education and training system in the Philippines
Strategic directions to maintain compliance to quality standards

3. The Maritime Industry Authority
PD No. 474 issued on 01 June 1974 attached Agency to the Office of the President Maritime Industry Decree of 1974.
With the issuance of Presidential Decree No. 474, otherwise known as the Maritime Industry Decree of 1974, the Maritime Industry Authority or MARINA was created on 01 June 1974 as an attached Agency to the Office of the President. It is mandated to integrate the development, promotion and regulation of the maritime industry in the country.
With the issuance of Executive Order No. 546 on 23 July 1979, creating the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (now existing as two separate department, DOTr or the Department of Transportation and the DICT or the Department of Information and Communications Technology), the MARINA was transferred to the Department of Transportation for policy and program coordination.

4. The Maritime Industry Authority
Republic Act No (13 March 2014) MARINA as the Single Administration responsible for the implementation and enforcement of the STCW Convention, as amended.
With the legislation of Republic Act No on 13 March 2014, MARINA is established as the Single Administration responsible for the implementation and enforcement of the STCW Convention, as amended.

5. Maritime Industry Authority Mandates
PD 474
1974
EO 546
1979
RA Law on the single maritime administration
2014
Full implementation of RA 10635
2015
As a way of review, the mandate of MARINA evolved within the last 42 years.
In brief, it was created under the Office of the President in After five years, it was transferred to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications coordinating the maritime affairs and concerns of seafarers with 11 other government agencies.
In 2014, Republic Act No was legislated, which designated MARINA as the single maritime administration in the Philippines. With the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 10635, MARINA now exists as the Single Administration responsible for the implementation and enforcement of the STCW Convention, as amended.
Maritime Industry Authority Mandates

6. Full Implementation of RA 10635
MARINA
DOH
NTC
CHED
And with the full implementation of RA in January 2015, the management of maritime affairs is now organized only by MARINA with DepEd and CHED on the one hand as the monitoring and implementing arm for the mandatory education and training standards and the Department of Health on the other hand as the monitoring and implementing arm for the medical standards. The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has recently transferred the training, examination and assessment functions with regard to radio and communications operators and MARINA is currently effecting the transition in compliance with the full implementation of the 2010 amendments in January 2017.

7. Maritime Education in the Philippines
K – 12: Senior High School Maritime Specializations
Technical-Vocational-Livelihood Track
Pre-baccalaureate Track
Enhanced Support-Level Program (ESLP)
Baccalaureate Programs
BS Marine Transportation
BS Marine Engineering
Bridging programs
Maritime Training Institutions
In general, the maritime education in the Philippines start as early as high school level.
We have the maritime specializations in senior high school, which is offered in two academic tracks, the Technical-Vocational-Livelihood Track and the Pre-baccalaureate track. On one hand, the Technical-vocational-livelihood track is a special program designed to comply with the education and training requirement of Reg. II/4 and III/4 (Rating forming part of a watch). The pre-baccalaureate track, on the other hand, is a preparatory program for those who want to pursue the merchant marine officers course in college.
Recognition and authorization for offering Senior High School Maritime Specialization is supervised by the Accreditation Division of the STCW Office of MARINA in coordination with the Curriculum and Instruction Bureaus of the Department of Education.
In the Philippines, we also have an Enhanced Support-Level Program. It is implemented in 2014 as a transition in line with the full implementation of the K-12 program in the basic education system of our country.
Baccalaureate or collegiate programs offered in the Philippines include the BS Marine Transportation corresponding the education and training for Regulation II/1 or OIC Navigational Watch, the BS Marine Engineering corresponding to the education and training of Regulation III/1 or OIC Engineering Watch, and the Bridging Programs which converts graduate of BS Electrical Engineering, BS Mechanical Engineering, BS Electronics Engineering to BS Marine Engineering.
Recognition and authorization for offering maritime baccalaureate programs is determined by the Technical Panel for Maritime Education or TPME. It is a committee composed of representatives from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Association of Maritime Education and Training Institutions, and Association of Maritime Companies. The TPME is headed by the MARINA Administrator.
The TPME serves as the oversight for assuring compliance and maintaining the country’s compliance to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers.

8. The STCW Convention, Manila Amendments (2010)
The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (or STCW), sets qualification standards for  officers and watch personnel on seagoing merchant ships. The STCW Convention was adopted in 1978 by a conference at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London, and entered into force in The Convention was significantly amended in 1995 and in 2010.
The STCW 2010 amendments, more popularly known as the Manila Amendments, was enforced since 2012 and will be fully implemented in January This international standard requires all parties to give full and complete effect to all regulations contained in the convention. One regulation, Regulation I/8 requires all parties to implement a Quality Standard.

9. Regulation I/8 of the STCW Convention, as amended
Specifically, Regulation I/8, as you see a screenshot of the General Provision, requires each party to ensure that a Quality Standard is in place, effective and implemented at all levels of its Administration.
This particular Regulation also requires the Administration of each Party, in our case, the Maritime Industry Authority of the Philippines, to undergo a periodic evaluation of the effectiveness of the Quality Standard it implemented. Report of such evaluation is communicated to the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Regulation I/8 of the STCW Convention, as amended

10. In compliance to Regulation I/8, the STCW Office of the Maritime Industry Authority was subjected to an independent evaluation on November 14-18, This independent evaluation included assessment of standards and procedures of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Department of Health (DOH). A random audit to selected maritime higher education institution (MHEIs) and OFW Clinics accredited by DOH was conducted.

11. The European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF)
Currently, each of the MARINA, CHED and DOH have different mandates. Considering the full implementation of the STCW Convention, it will be critical to also take into account the political nature of these three government agencies.
Even as the legal framework for accreditation is laid down by the MARINA, including the criteria and the time schedule for re-accreditation, a tri-partite implementation of a quality system must be coordinated to maximize positive effects and benefits. This is necessary to establish a common platform to have a uniform implementation of the accreditation concept, including the guidelines for the self-assessment report, appointment of experts and dialogue with the there government agencies and the tri-partite capacity and motivation for participating or involvement in the accreditation process.
I believe that like the European experience, it might be easier to assess the impact on structural and managerial processes on each of the three agencies than to see the improvement in the actual delivery of maritime education and training in the country as a whole. This is because evaluation of teaching and learning is such a complicated process and is therefore needing full cooperation of associations like the PACUCOA to assure an honest to goodness enhancement of the quality of education in the Philippines.
The European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF)