To  assist the European Commission (EC) in monitoring Philippine maritime safety compliance with the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) conducted an inspection on the maritime education, training, and certification system in the Philippines last October 8-24, 2013.

EMSA audited Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Department of Health (DOH), and 18 maritime education and training institutions around the country. MARINA, the lead agency for STCW implementation in the Philippines, received the draft report of the said audit on the first week of February. The draft report indicated the following salient points:

I. Quality standards system

EMSA audit report emphasizes that while MARINA managed a National Quality Standards System (NQSS) and the other agencies implemented a Quality Standards System (QSS) required to be aligned with the NQSS, many areas still need to be addressed before full implementation is achieved.

II. Programme and course approval

The report mentions that the “implementation of the management level courses could not be ensured.”

III. Monitoring and evaluation of training and assessment

The audit team observed that MARINA and CHED “could not demonstrate that the monitoring activities has been fully implemented and conducted in a uniform way” and “auditors in different teams rated the same non- conformity differently.”

IV. Maritime education and training institutions

The draft report also noted deficiencies on the implementation of the quality system and monitoring of syllabi delivery, high student-to- facility ratios and less- than-challenging exam questions among the audited institutions. While the draft report indicated some adverse feedback out of their observations, an interpretation stressed that the former makes no recommendations on whether to continue or withdraw recognition of Philippine officers’ certificates.

The EMSA audit team finalizes its report this month for submission to EC, which will most likely refer it to the EC’s Committee on Safe Seas (CoSS) for deliberation and decision in the coming months. EMSA’s audit and EC’s decision will be critical and significant as they will determine if European- flagged ships will continue to recognize Filipino seafarer’s certificates with EMSA