FILIPINO seafarers residing in Mindanao may soon benefit from free training opportunities as the National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP) received a strong support from the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDa) to expand its presence in the country’s southern region. MinDa formalized its endorsement for the establishment of a Regional Training Center (RTC) in Davao Region through a memorandum for the president signed by Secretary Leo Tereso Magno. The memorandum recognized NMP’s potential to expand access to quality maritime education, training, assessment, and certification services for seafarers across Mindanao. It also recognized NMP’s reconstitution as an attached agency of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
This development objective is also reflected in NMP’s efforts to expand its presence and bring maritime training opportunities closer to seafarers. In partnership with the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), NMP is currently undertaking feasibility studies for the proposed RTCS in Davao City and Tanza, Cavite, which will serve as strategic hubs for maritime training and related services in Mindanao and Luzon, respectively. These initiatives directly support Agenda 3 of the Mindanao Agenda on Trade and Industry Development by enhancing workforce competitiveness, strengthening human capital development, expanding employment opportunities, and ultimately contributing to inclusive and sustainable economic growth across the region. “Given its highly specialized mandate and critical role in maritime workforce development, the NMP has proposed its reconstitution as an attached agency of the DMW to restore its institutional autonomy and strengthen its capacity to respond to the evolving needs of the maritime sector, including its planned expansion through the establishment of RTCs in Northern Mindanao and Davao Region,” Magno said in the issued memorandum, noting that 72,900 Mindanao-based seafarers will benefit from these initiatives.
On July 24, NMP concluded the series of public consultations on the proposed executive order reconstituting the NMP as DMW-attached agency, succeeding the first public consultation in Tacloban City for Visayas-leg on June 9, Davao City for the Mindanao on June 18, and Bacoor City, Cavite for Calabarzon on July 21.
The activity gathered national government agencies, maritime institutions, ship operators and shipowners’ associations, the seafaring community and unions to discuss, validate, and provide recommendations on the proposed institutional reform.
A subsumed agency of the DMW, NMP remains the country’s only government-operated maritime training and research institution. It was established in 1978, operating its main training complex in Tacloban City and a liaison office in Makati City.
