NMP Participates in the International Coastal Clean-up Day

NMP Executive Director Dr. Romulo V. Bernardes leads the NMP employees during the International Coastal Clean Up (ICC) on Saturday

Tacloban City – Employees of the National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP), a government owned maritime training and research center actively participated in the International Coastal Clean-up (ICC) Day last September 16, 2017 at Brgy. Payapay San Jose, this city.

Initiated by the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary (PCGA), participants coming from the various government agencies like the NMP, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and local government units were grouped into teams composed of five (5) members with specific tasks as part of the trash collection process.
The clean-up yielded several bags of segregated garbage composed of mostly non-biodegradables made up of plastic, rubber, synthetic fiber and glass. The garbage were weighed and were turned-over to the collecting sponsor for proper disposal. The event started early morning covering the sea shores of Brgy. 88, 89 and 90 in San Jose, Tacloban City.

The International Coastal Clean-up Day was established by the Ocean Conservancy, an organization that work to help protect the ocean from the challenges it faces every year. The organization engages volunteers in collecting marine debris from the world’s waterways. During the cleanup, volunteers act as “citizen scientists,” tallying the items they find on data cards. The information is used to identify the sources of marine debris, examine trends in debris items, and increase awareness about the threats of marine debris. Cleanups may also be done along the shore, from watercraft, or underwater.
The amount of trash items collected during the clean-up totaled to 534.4 kilos out of the 88 trash bags filled.

Meanwhile, NMP continues to upgrade its facilities and provide maritime trainings required pursuant to the Standards of Training, Certification, and Watch keeping for Seafarers (STCW) Convention as amended in 2010 including value-adding courses towards improving the qualifications of Filipino seafarers for their employment acceptability and enhanced competitiveness. It also regularly conducts maritime studies to come up with policies for the improvement of the manpower sector of the industry.

Those interested to take NMP training programs may visit the NMP website www.nmp.gov.ph and its Facebook page (www.facebook.com/nmptrainingcenter) where all related information on NMP trainings are available.