President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called on the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) this week to eliminate the “obsolete” provisions in the Philippines’ maritime laws to enhance the country’s competitiveness.
Marcos issued this directive in response to MARINA’s presentation of its Maritime Industry Development Plan 2028 (MIDP 2028)
Emphasizing the importance of prioritizing system standardization over promotion and modernization, Marcos also underscored the need to simultaneously promote the development of a highly skilled Filipino maritime workforce.
“Yung ship building and ship repair, we haven’t done much to promote that. The rest are for further development. So let’s standardize our practices so that we will be the same with our international counterparts. We have to fix our house first. Because we have to compete and in order to do that we should have an even playing field and then we should gain an advantage,” Marcos said.
“It is therefore imperative to first provide a standardized system by international systems before the proposed programs could be implemented,” he added.
MARINA Chief Sonia Bautista Malaluan proposed the Maritime Industry Development Plan 2028 (MIDP 2028) as a first step towards implementing reforms in the maritime industry.
Malaluan had sought the approval of Marcos for the updated MIDP 2028, which aimed to build a strong and reliable Philippine merchant fleet while addressing the sea requirements of the country in support of the national development agenda.
Included in the plan were the modernization and expansion of Philippine domestic shipping, the promotion and expansion of Philippine overseas shipping, the modernization of the Philippine shipbuilding and ship repair industry, and the promotion of a highly skilled Filipino and competitive maritime workforce.
Marcos stated that the problems and challenges mentioned by Marina require the maritime industry to standardize operations and practices in order to implement appropriate programs.
“Let’s standardize and also prioritize in terms of the immediacy of some of these,” the President told the Marina official.
MARINA was created in June 1974 to integrate the development, promotion and regulation of the Philippine maritime industry.
MARINA is mandated to lead a progressive maritime administration that ensures safety and security of life and property at sea, protection of marine environment and global competitiveness of Filipino maritime workforce.
