SENATOR Francis Tolentino has filed a measure that will convert the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy into the Philippine National Maritime Academy.

Senate Bill 2469 or the proposed Philippine National Maritime Academy Charter will expand the curriculum and course offerings of the Academy to make it more adaptable to the progressive and changing domestic and international maritime industry.

Tolentino said the PMMA has produced countless master mariners, chief engineers, shipping executives, naval officers, and excellent educators in marine and maritime-related industries locally and abroad.

The PMMA, he added, has become the gold standard in producing the finest Filipino merchant marine officers aligned with the international standards of ship owners and employers.

The renaming of PMMA into the Philippine National Maritime Academy will help address the funding deficit for its commercial and merchant needs, thereby leading to more equipped graduates meeting the European Maritime Safety Agency standards, ready for deployment.

The senator said the bill aims to augment the country’s defense and maritime law enforcement by increasing the number of maritime officers, through additional access to the academy by increasing the number of campuses in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

“With these proposed changes, it is our aim to provide more highly qualified graduates who are responsive to the needs of the current situation and to encourage more Filipinos to pursue a career in the maritime industry,” he said.