Being at the forefront of the nation as provider of specialized and upgrading courses to Filipino seafarers and maritime-allied labor force, the National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP) conferred thirteen (13) graduates of IMO Model Course 6.09 or the Training Course for Instructors (TCI) during its momentous Closing Program at the Davao Merchant Marine Academy (DMMA) College of Southern Philippines on 23 April 2021.

Ingrained to serve, NMP went beyond its main training complex in Tacloban City to deliver its services to its clients in the Mindanao regions.

“I would like to express my sincere appreciation to NMP for choosing DMMACSP as its partner in the conduct of the IMO Model Course 6.09. This is a big help to maritime professionals to become qualified instructors for both the Maritime Higher Education Institutions (MHEIs) and Maritime Training Institutions (MTIs) and Assessment Centers (ACs). This provides good opportunity to the people in Davao City and even in Mindanao as they will no longer go to Visayas and Luzon to take the course also in consideration that there are still a lot of restrictions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.”, DMMA College President, Gloria Uriarte, expressed.

Remarkably, among the graduates of the training course were twelve (12) scholars under the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA)-Skills for Employment Scholarship Program (SESP). In his speech, OWWA Regional Welfare Office XI OIC-Regional Director, Carmelo T. Elaya, elaborated that the SESP grants registered and active OWWA members (land-based or sea-based member) or beneficiaries/dependents of an active OWWA member with 14,000php financial assistance (for technical course) while 7,250php for six-month vocational course.

It can be recalled that for years, only the IMO MC 6.09 was covered by the said program but in 2019, through the initiative of NMP Executive Director, Joel B. Maglunsod, a request for inclusion of the IMO MC 3.12 and 6.10 in the OWWA Scholarship Programs for seafarers was made. As an offshoot, the request was approved during the conduct of the OWWA’s Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting in August 2019.

One of the participants was then NMP-Executive Director and the elected Class President, Manuel C. Roldan who said in his Impression Speech that he had many learnings about the course and even wished he had taken the course while he was the NMP ED.

“I would like to congratulate NMP for bringing the service to the people. The final learning affects my life, the fact that we have to do things with purpose so that we can align the things that we want to have especially us who envision to be quality trainers in the future”, he said.

Class Treasurer, Chief Engineer Jimmy Jay Bigaran also shared, “Looking at the shipping industry with all the errors, related accidents, there is now a greater challenge for us graduates to perhaps be a little light to inspire, motivate, and keep educating ourselves and others so that in the following years with all our contributions, we will be able to bring the Filipino seafarers to new heights and make this world to be a better place to live in”.

In her closing remarks, NMP’s Deputy Executive Director, Mayla N. Macadawan, recollected the efforts done since her early years with the NMP in 2017, where the vision for an NMP Mindanao started.

“We always perceived Davao as the maritime training hub for Mindanao. In 2017 when I assumed as NMP’s DED and as Chair of the NMP Mindanao Expansion Project Team, I made coordination with different agencies and even with Davao Mayor Sara Duterte. Fortunate enough, all the efforts paid off because in 2021, NMP was considered as one of the grantees among the national government agencies to establish an office in the proposed Davao Regional Government Center in Brgy. Bago Oshiro, Davao City.”, DED emphasized.

She ended her talk with a challenge to the IMO MC 6.09 participants to be future bearers of knowledge with the use of technology. “You have the knowledge because NMP is making sure that we are compliant of the STCW amendments. The challenge now is to pass on the information to the next generations and ensure that Philippines will remain as the top provider of competent and competitive seafarers in the international maritime fleets.”

In firm support to NMP’s vision, the good office of DMMA pledged to provide two (2) rooms for NMP, one for PDC classes and the other room as NMP’s office.

This is just the start of many more fruitful partnership between NMP and DMMACSP. Succeeding schedules for the conduct of Professional Development Courses (PDC) will be posted at the NMP official facebook page (www.facebook.com/nmptrainingcenter) where all related information on NMP trainings are also available.