After being formally introduced as the Administrator of the Philippines’ Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) to the Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) of the European Commission, Ms. Sonia Malaluan shared the country’s continuing efforts to improve its policies and systems relative to the ongoing compliance with the STCW 1978, as amended, during a meeting held on 07 March 2024 at the DG MOVE office in Brussels, Belgium.

The Administrator also presented the programs under the updated MIDP 2028 and her priority projects this 2024.

With this, the DG MOVE was pleased to note the progress and updates on STCW as well as the priority agenda of the MARINA. For its part, the DG MOVE has confirmed the status of the technical assistance that will be provided to the Philippines, starting from the 4th quarter of this year and running for three (3) years or until 2027.

Accompanying Administrator Malaluan were Department of Transportation (DOTr) Undersecretary for Maritime Mr. Elmer Sarmiento; Philippine Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg H.E. Jaime Victor Ledda; Multisectoral Governance Council (MSGC) Chair, Mr. Dito Borromeo who met with Acting Director of MOVE-D (Waterborne) Ms. Fotini Ioannidou and Justyna Bartnicka.

It should be noted that the MOVE-D covers the directorate’s functions relating to safety, maritime transport and logistics as well as ports and inland navigation.

Also discussed were other areas of EU and PH collaboration and support, in particular, initiatives on GHG reduction and the comprehensive review of the STCW Convention and Code.

View photos here.