The Philippines’ Maritime Walk-in Licensure Examination System (WES) has never been well. It’s a festering wound that has kept the country from dealing vigorously with the problem of not having enough qualified ship officers to supply to the world merchant fleet. And now the wound has been opened wide by the Joint Manning Group (JMG) for everyone to see.

The JMG, which includes the Magsaysay-controlled Philippines-Japan Manning Consultative Council, is not known to be anti-Establishment. Indeed, it can be described as somewhat conservative. It probably would be the last group to stoke any kind of public controversy, especially of the kind that would be detrimental to business.

But enough is enough. A week before Christmas, six crewing organisations under the JMG umbrella sent off a two-page letter to Labour Secretary Marianito Roque complaining about the WES shortly after they received from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) a copy of the progress report the latter had provided the Associated Marine Officers’ and Seamen’s Union (AMOSUP). Why the JMG would complain to Secretary Roque, whose office has nothing to do with the licensing of officers, is not surprising. It had previously written the PRC but did not get the courtesy of a reply – not even a simple acknowledgment that its letter was received. That sort of bureaucratic fecklessness is inexcusable considering the main points that the JMG was prompted to raise before Mr Roque, to wit:

1. The WES has not met the expected outcome of producing the desired number of marine officers the industry needs;

2. Additional issues have emerged relating to implementation, particularly the difficulty of making on-line applications & maximisation of facilities in regional centres; and

3. The average number of 30 examinees per week as against the 184/week or 736/month computer slots available means that more than 600 applicants are unable to take advantage of the system.

The JMG reckoned that, if all walk-in centres were fully utilised with an average passing rate amongst applicants of 80%, the country could be producing 7,000-plus additional officers at various levels every year. Its bold conclusion: ‘We believe that there is a deliberate and malicious design to sabotage the efficient and successful implmentation system of the WES.’

This is a serious charge that calls for a full-dress Senate investigation. Not least of the matters the solons can look into is why a union has a direct hand in running a system that involves the licensing of merchant marine professionals. ‘I feel that PRC in giving the program to AMOSUP is a tacit acceptance of their incapability to do their duty as a government agency,’ says Capt Michael Cuanzon, a former chairman of the PRC board of examiners for deck officers. ‘There is no law (that) I know (of) that gives PRC the task to extend its duty to test (officers) to private agencies.’

Congressional probes, of course, tend to be all sound and fury. But at the very least, a legislative enquiry into what has become a failed system can serve as an outlet for industry players to vent their frustrations. Pent-up emotions can be bad for the health. ~Barista Uno

NOTE:  Copies of the JMG letter to Labour Secretary Roque together with the PRC-WES implementation report are available upon request. Just drop us a line:  marinecafeblog@gmail.com.

ERRATUM: The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) is actually an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Our statement that Secretary Roque’s office ‘has nothing to do with the licensing of officers’ was, therefore,  inaccurate. In this context, it was entirely appropriate for the Joint Manning Group to address its complaint letter to the good Secretary, especially after it was snubbed by the PRC.