Bongbong Marcos orders Marina to standardize maritime system – Palace

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the Maritime Industry Authority to standardize the Philippine maritime system, the Palace says on Thursday, January 18, 2024. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the standardization of the Philippine maritime system, the Palace said Thursday.

During a closed-door meeting on Wednesday with Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) Administrator Sonia Bautista Malaluan, Marcos was presented with the Maritime Industry Development Plan 2028, which includes a modernization program for Philippine shipping.

“Let’s standardize our practices so that we will be the same with our international counterparts. We have to fix our house first. Because we have to compete and [to] do that, we should have an even playing field, and then we should gain an advantage,” Marcos said in the meeting, as quoted by a press release from Malacañang.

According to the Palace, the President observed that many of the rules and regulations in the maritime industry are obsolete.

READ: Bongbong Marcos certifies as urgent Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers

“These are all promotion, modernization but let us standardize first our systems and at the same time, we undertake this like promotion of highly skilled Filipino maritime workforce,” Marcos said.

The President also emphasized the importance of promoting shipbuilding and repair during that meeting, the Palace noted.