WHEREAS, after a careful perusal of Section 15 and 16, Article V, Sections 23, 24 and 25, Article VI of Board Resolution No. 21, series of 1999, the Board deemed it necessary to amend said sections to conform with the recent developments arising from their implementation.

WHEREFORE, the Board resolved to amend Sections 15 and 16, Article V, and Sections 23, 24 and 25, Article VI of Board Resolution No. 21, series of 1999, as follows:

SECTION 1.       Sections 15 and 16, Article V of Board Resolution No. 21, series of 199, are hereby amended to read as follows:

"Section 15.  Application - The applicant for the written examination shall file a computerized application form, duly accomplished, in the Application Section of the Marine Deck Officers Division (MDOD) of the PRC or in any of the PRC regional offices accompanied by authentic or authenticated copies of the required documents.

"A Filipino citizen applicant who graduated from a foreign maritime institution or academy shall be required to present an endorsement from the Commission on Higher Education in order that he will be allowed to take the marine deck officers licensure examination.

"SECTION 16.          Examination and Assessment - All applicants for registration, certification and admission to the practice of the Marine Deck Officers profession in any capacity, function and level, shall be required to take and pass the written examination.  They shall also be required to take and pass the practical assessment which shall meet the standard of competence prescribed in PART A of the STCW Code; provided that, only those who passed the written examination shall be allowed to take the practical assessment.

"When conditions and circumstances so warrant, the Board may give/administer, subject to the approval of the Commission, walk-in examinations, outside of the regular examination schedule which shall also involve the same examination and assessment described above."

SECTION 2.       Sections 23, 24 and 25, Article VI of Board Resolution No. 21, series of 1999, are hereby amended to read as follows:

"SECTION 23.          Required Rating to Pass the Written Examination and Practical Assessment -

(a)     To pass the written examination, an examinee must obtain a weighted general average rating of at least seventy percent (70%), with no grade lower than sixty percent (60%) in any given subject;

(b)     To pass the practical assessment, an examinee must obtain a grade of at least seventy percent (70%); and

(c)     To pass the licensure examination for marine deck officers, an examinee must obtain a weighted general average rating of at least seventy percent (70%) in both the written examination and practical assessment which shall be computed on the basis of the weighted general average rating in the written examination and the grade in the practical assessment with the following equivalents:

70% for the Written Examination; and

30% for the Practical Assessment.

"SECTION 24.   Removal Examination -

(a)     An examinee in the written examination who obtained a weighted general average rating of at least seventy percent (70%) but obtained a grade lower than sixty percent (60%) in any given subject, shall be considered conditioned and must take the written examination in the subject/s where he obtained a grade lower than sixty percent (60%) within a period of two (2) years from the last examination taken.  The examinee shall be deemed to have failed in the examination should he fail to take the examination in the subject/s where he obtained a grade lower than (60%) within a period of two (2) years from the last examination taken; Provided, that if such examinee fails to obtain a grade of at least sixty percent (60%) in the subject/s re-examined, he shall be considered to have failed on both examinations which shall however be deemed as one failure for purposes of the immediately succeeding section; and

(b) An examinee in the practical assessment who obtained a grade lower than seventy percent (70%) in the practical assessment, shall be considered to have failed and shall take the subsequent practical assessment.

"SECTION 25. Re-examination - An examinee who failed to pass the written examination or practical assessment for the third time, shall be allowed to take another examination only after the lapse of one year from the last written examination/practical assessment taken. 

SECTION 3. This amendment shall take effect fifteen (15) days from its publication in the official gazette or any newspaper of general circulation which ever is earlier.

SECTION 4. Sections 15 and 16 of Article V, and Sections 23, 24 and 25, of Article VI, of Board Resolution No. 21, Series of 1999 of the Board of Marine Deck Officers, are hereby repealed.

Adopted: 24 July 2000

(SGD.) ERNESTO C. BONDOC Acting Chairman
(SGD.) HERNANDO S. EUSEBIO Member	(SGD.) FELIPE G. ATIENZA Member
(SGD.) IMPARCIAL O. TEODORO Member
Attested:
(SGD.) ARISTOGERSON T. GESMUNDO Executive Director
(SGD.) HERMOGENES P. POBRE Commission Chairman
(SGD.) ALFONSO G. ABAD Associate Commissioner	(SGD.) AVELINA DE LA REA-TAN Associate Commissioner