Philippines donates $30,000 to global maritime body

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has donated $30,000 to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to help in funding its capacity-building activities for the safety and security of seafarers and their ships.

At the 73rd Session of the IMO’s Technical Cooperation Committee, the Philippines formalized a $30,000 contribution to the Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme of the IMO.

Equivalent to around P1.7 million, the amount will be used to finance some projects that promote the safety and welfare of stakeholders at sea.

Philippine maritime attaché to the IMO Jean Ver Pia said the donation will, in particular, bankroll capacity-building activities for seafarer safety and security. Likewise, it will support anti-piracy workshops and casualty investigations that also benefit the Philippines.

Pia noted that the country gains from technical cooperations under the IMO. In July, South Korea expanded its official development assistance to the IMO to support policy discussions on marine litter in East Asia, as well as the testing of an electronic navigation service in the Philippines.

Pia also said another product of technical cooperation through the IMO is China’s effort to draft a training manual for domestic ferry safety.

The Philippines is running for reelection in the IMO Council, a position that it wants to maintain to push for policies that can protect its thousands of seafarers and interest in shipbuilding.

The Philippines is the largest source of maritime crew with about 385,000 Filipinos working as seafarers across the globe.

Apart from this, the Philippines is the fifth largest shipbuilding nation in the world. Last year, the country assembled 569 ships for domestic use and 47 more for foreign clients.

Further, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the Philippines wants to play a larger role in greening the maritime industry. The country is collaborating with international organizations to cut its greenhouse emissions and minimize plastic pollution.