WHEREAS , there is an urgent need to strengthen the institutional framework for the administration of the 1978 Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) Convention, as amended, in order to effectively implement the provisions of the Convention, thereby ensuring the compliance by the Filipino seafarers with the above standards;

WHEREAS , the status of the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) as the lead agency and the Administration for the implementation of the 1978 STCW Convention, as amended, has to be firmly and unequivocably established, affirming the government ™s commitment to the International maritime Organization;

WHEREAS , there is a need to clarify certain responsibilities of the Administration (MARINA) under international conventions in the light of Republic Act No. 8544 otherwise known as the œPhilippine Merchant Marine Officers Act of 1998. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA , President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order the amendment of Executive Order Nos. 396, as amended, providing for the institutional framework for the administration of the 1978 STCW Convention, as amended, in the Philippines.

SECTION 1. Administration for STCW . The MARINA shall continue to be the Administration for the implementation of the STCW Convention, as amended, and shall have the following obligations and responsibilities:

1. Communicate to the IMO and other concerned parties/agencies any supplemental information necessary, including subsequent amendments to its rules, regulations and/or procedures relative to the Philippine compliance with or implementation of the Convention;
2. Issue, jointly with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), the endorsement attesting the issue of a certificate under the provisions of the 1978 STCW Convention, as amended in 1995, upon issuance of the certificates of competency by the PRC under Republic Act No. 8544. The prescribed Endorsement of Certificate form is attached as Annex œA ;
3. Serve as the central repository of information relative to Regulation 1/9 of the Convention and maintain copies of the certificates of competency and its corresponding STCW endorsement;
4. Coordinate, monitor, and verify compliance by concerned government agencies with their Quality Standards System pursuant to Regulation I/8 of the Convention;
5. Participate in any policy formulation activities by concerned government agencies as they pertain to the implementation of the Convention;
6. Facilitate requests from other maritime administrations in coordination with other government agencies involved regarding confirmation of Philippine compliance with the Convention in accordance with Regulation I/10, paragraph 1.1 thereof;
7. Perform such functions as may be requested by the Maritime Training Council (MTC) and such acts as are proper and necessary to effectively implement this Executive Order.

SEC. 2. The STCW Executive Committee (EXCOM) . The MARINA Administrator shall be the Chairman of the STCW EXCOM, with representatives from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the Department of Health (DOH) and the Maritime Training Council (MTC) as regular members. The representative to the EXCOM shall have a rank not lower than Director II.

SEC. 3. Implementing Rules and Regulations . The STCW EXCOM shall immediately convene to prepare the Implementing Rules and Regulations for the effective implementation of this Executive Order.

SEC. 4 Reports . The STCW EXCOM, in coordination with the MTC, shall provide a quarterly report to the President, through the Executive Secretary, on the status of the country ™s compliance with the STCW Convention.

SEC. 5 Repealing Clause . All issuances, rules and regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with the provisions of this Order, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 6. Effectivity . This order shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 7th day of September in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and ninety-nine.

(SGD.) JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(SGD.) RAMON B. CARDENAS
Acting Executive Secretary