"THE few, the proud and the best!"

This motto of the premier maritime school in the country may no longer be said of the 180-year old Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA) as it failed, along with scores of maritime institutions, to make the list of STCW '95 (Standards for Training, Certification and Watchkeeping)-compliant schools in the country today.

In a memorandum circular issued by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on March 2 this year, only 37 schools offering maritime education programs "have fully complied with STCW 95 requirements." 

Ester Albano Garcia, chairperson of CHED's Technical Panel for Maritime Education, said the list was approved by the commission during its en banc meeting last February 19 this year.

"The final list was based on the panel's recommendation after monoitoring and assessment of the different maritime institutes in the country," Garcia said, adding that a copy of the list will be sent to the International Maritime Organ-ization (IMO).

Learning of PMMA's failure to make the list, many of the institute's prominent and successful graduates expressed dismay. They told Tinig ng Marino that they are willing to help PMMA regain its lost glory.

According to one PMMA alumnus, he even called up the school's president, Capt. Virginio Aris, and offered to help. "He shut me out and told me that there's no problem with the school," the alumni, who asked not to be named, said in disgust.

He shared the same feeling with scores of other PMMA alumni who also proposed to "help our beloved alma mater regain its glory and prestige."

Even UFS president Engr. Nelson P. Ramirez,  an  honorary member of PMMAAA, received numerous suggest-ions from scores of alumni offering to pool "our talents and resources together to help PMMA."

However, most of these alumni ex-pressed frustration over the cold-shoulder treatment given to them by Aris.

The downslide in the quality of graduates from PMMA was revealed after some European shipowners, acting through their local agents, allegedly hired 24 graduates from the institute. Following the initial screening, half of them failed the examinations. And when a series of evaluations were made, only three were given contracts. "The other nine failed because of misbehavior," the source said.

Ramirez noted that what happened to PMMA is a sad statement on the quality of maritime schools today. According to him, if PMMA, with all the support it gets from the government, failed to meet the requirements stipulated in STCW '95, how much more with the other maritime schools.

Based on surveys conducted by the Maritime Training Council, there are an estimated 118 schools offering Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation and BS Marine Engineering courses. 

MTC executive director Lorna Fajardo said the number is slightly lower than the 127 schools in 1996 and 15 less than the total 133 in the early 90s.

Despite the proliferation of maritime schools, PMMA continued to maintain a leading role in maritime education, earning "its laurels from the praises heaped by foreign shipowners on its graduates." Also, its graduates began to take responsible positions in the maritime industry, heading manning agencies and maritime training schools, after serving big shipping firms abroad.

Because of this role, the government undertook a massive upgrading project in 1998. With a P350-million soft loan from Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufubau, PMMA acquired additional land to expand its campus to 64 hectares. It also bought equipment and built school buildings that housed state-of-the-art instructional gadgets and facilities needed for training world-class deck and engine officers.

When Aris took over as president of PMMA on July 30, 1999, he was the first alumnus-president after 12 years when the institute was under the leadership of three non-PMMAers. After nearly two years, however, the Zambales-based academy, under Aris' leadership, "deteriorated due to widespread demoralization."

With its failure to make the latest CHED list, many shipowners are beginning to shift their attention on other maritime schools for their cadet recruitment. Some of these schools that have made inroads are, ironically, under the leadership or are owned by PMMA alumni.

One such school is the Misamis Institute of Technology, owned by the Maglasang family of Ozamis City and headed by Capt. Rene Maglasang, also a PMMAer.
Applying what he has learned from PMMA and fine-tuning it further with his experience at sea and foreign trainings, Maglasang crafted a training program that has produced some of the most sought-after cadets among foreign shipowners today.

Maglasang's Project Alpha has merited various forms of assistance from different shipowners here and abroad because its graduates have demonstrated not only academic competence but extraordinary skills in seafaring. 

LIST OF STCW ‘95-COMPLIANT MARITIME SCHOOLS

Northern Phil. Col. for Maritime Educ. & Tech. Studies, La Union; Pangasinan Merchant Marine Academy, Dagupan City; PIMSAT Colleges, Dagupan City; Baliuag  Maritime Academy, San Rafael, Bulacan; Central Luzon College of Technology, Olongapo City; Midway Maritime and Tech. College, Cabanatuan City; Lyceum  of Batangas, City; Manuel S. Enverga University, Lucena City; Palawan Polytechnic College, Puerto Princesa City; Mariners Polytechnic College Foundation, Baras, Cam. Sur; Mariners Polytechnic College Foundation, Rawis, Legaspi; John B. Lacson College Foundation, Arevalo, Iloilo City; John B. Lacson College Foundation, Bacolod City; MTC Colleges, Tigbauan, Iloilo; St. Theresa – MTC Colleges, Iloilo City; University of Cebu, Cebu City; Cagayan Capitol College, Cagayan de Oro City; Misamis Institute of Technology, Ozamis City; Misamis University, Ozamis City; Southern de Oro Philippine College Cagayan de Oro City; Agro–Industrial Foundation of the Philippines, Davao City; Davao Merchant Marine Academy, Davao City; Holy Cross of Davao College, Davao City; MATS College of Technology, Davao City; Mindanao Polytechnic College, General Santos City; Agusan Institute of Technology, Butuan City; St. Joseph Institute of Technology, Butuan City; AIMS, Pasay City; Our Lady of Fatima College, Valenzuela City; Philippine Merchant Marine School, Talon, Las Piñas City; Philsin Maritime Technology Colleges, Sta. Mesa; PMI Colleges, Escolta, Manila; PMI Colleges, Roosevelt Ave., Quezon City; Technological Institute of  the Philippines, Quiapo, Manila.; and West Bay Colleges, Muntinlupa City. 

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