FILE PHOTO: Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero. Bibo Nueva España/Senate PRIB
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero is proposing the construction of additional Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA) campuses and facilities in Calabarzon, Visayas, and Mindanao than pass a bill aimed at bolstering student enlistment.
“Instead of mandating that there be at least one student or cadet from each congressional district, for us to pass instead a law that will establish additional campuses and facilities of the PMMA in Calabarzon, Visayas – either Bacolod Cebu or Iloilo – and in Mindanao – either in Davao or Cagayan de Oro – and to appropriate the corresponding funds therefore,” Escudero said during a hearing of the Senate committee on higher, technical, and vocational education on Thursday.
According to the Senate committee chair, the “refocusing” of the measure should also include provisions to prioritize merchant marine courses in the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) tuition subsidies.
The Senate panel’s hearing on Thursday tackled House Bill No. 6994 authored by Representatives Rufus Rodriguez, Marlyn Primicias-Agabas, Mark Go, and Manuel “Mannix” Dalipe, which calls for the recruitment of one freshman cadet from each of the country’s 253 congressional districts to “ensure that the entire country will be represented in each graduating class.”
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