Last of three parts
(This three-part series constitutes the review of the subject done in collaboration with Capt. Edgardo Flores.)
THE erstwhile policy on OBT could be characterized as one of ambivalence, shifting from one of post-schooling requirements to one of being part of an academic requirement. Generally, most higher education programs in other fields of study require on-the-job training (OJT), commonly referred to as immersion activity and which lasts no longer than a semester. It is considered part of familiarization on how things are in the workplace and for which the student, in order to gain the academic units for the program must be enrolled. OJT does not aim to make the student competent to assume a task; new hires in an organization or company usually undergo an apprenticeship or probationary training as part of learning the job. This must be the logic of the sea-going service under the STCW convention.
Apprenticeship for craftsmanship in trade and arts, including that of the maritime field, was required during the American rule over the Philippine Islands as a way for them to have a reservoir of crew who would man coastwise ships needed to facilitate the exercise of governmental administration over numerous islands. The American colonizers introduced a regulatory framework for sea transport which included registration of ships and the qualifications for the ship’s crew, practically adopted from the American system.
At that time, applicants for a merchant marine license (deck) had to take a two-year technology-vocational course for which they were awarded an Associate in Nautical Science (ANS) certificate. One requirement for an applicant to be able to sit for the examination for certification was to complete 24 months of apprenticeship onboard a seagoing steam or motor vessel; the apprenticeship was not a requirement for getting the ANS diploma; rather, it was to take the licensure examination.
A review of the legislation pertaining to the practice of the merchant marine profession in the Philippines shows that apprenticeship was required pursuant to the law for applicants for deck officers who must be holders of a BS Marine Transportation Degree major in Navigation and Seamanship. Interestingly, a second year high school finisher could apply for the position of Fourth Marine Engineer provided he had served at least five years as an apprentice engineer, oiler, or machinist. He also needs to pass a review class before he can take the licensure exam. A marine engineer graduate, on the other hand, needs only to have served for two years as an apprentice engineer, oiler or machinist. The Associate in Marine Engineering course was later upgraded in 1991 to a four-year Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering in response to the technological advancement in the maritime industry and the requirements of the STCW convention.
Many years thereafter, the issue of cadetship, apprenticeship and OBT has taken a tortuous road as many of those who went into the BSMT/BSMarE programs were not able to graduate because of the limited number of available berths for cadetship. Despite the many efforts and initiatives to increase the berths for cadetship, there are just not enough ships that could accommodate those who finish their three-year academic curriculum. Government attention is focused on keeping the deployment of Filipino seafarers through the effective implementation of the STCW convention, just as manning companies go out for more space for Filipino cadets onboard their ships. Yet, the issue of OBT remains.
RA 12021, or the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, bruited to address the seeming inadequacies and weaknesses in the country’s implementation of the STCW convention incorporated in the law provisions on maritime education. With the objective of increasing the cadetship slots, RA 12021 introduced a provision requiring maritime higher education institutions to acquire training ships citing as basis RA 844, an archaic (70-year old) law enacted in 1953, and which was never implemented, indeed a good case of the doctrine of desuetude that causes statutes, legislation to lapse and become unenforceable by a long habit of un-enforcement or lapse of time.
To date, the question of how far RA 12021 will take the cause of thousands of maritime students who fail to get their baccalaureate diploma remains on hold.
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