Marcos vows compliance with EMSA, assures gov't is doing everything

The Philippines will do everything to address the observations of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Monday.

“It’s not something you can debate about. You comply. We’ll have to comply. So that we will be accredited. Hindi— it’s not discretionary,” Marcos said in an interview.

In November, government officials said the administration is eyeing to issue an executive order to address the grievances of EMSA, such as the lack of shipboard training among Filipino seafarers.

For his part, Marcos said the government will do everything that it can.

“We cannot leave it hanging like this. We cannot leave it hanging like this. And this is our last chance so we have to really— we really have to get it done,” he said.

Lawyer Julius Yano of the Department of Transportation had said the country did not fail the EMSA audit as grievances have been found in previous audits.

Meanwhile, the Maritime Industry Authority and the Commission on Higher Education already issued revised policies to address the EMSA findings and submitted them to the European Commission.

Marcos on Sunday evening left the country to attend the Commemorative Summit between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the European Union in Brussels, Belgium.—Joahna Lei Casilao/AOL, GMA Integrated News