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THE
Philippine government has identified eight priority
projects, which should be undertaken by the Department
of Transport and Communications (DOTC) to revitalize the
stagnant maritime industry before President Arroyo steps
down from power in 2010.
According to Transport undersecretary Elena Bautista,
the department is still awaiting Malacañang’s approval
for the disbursement of a P750,000 allotment, which will
be primarily used for workshops and meetings with
stakeholders.
The
eight priority sectors are maritime manpower, maritime
administration, port administration, maritime
environmental protection, safety and security,
shipbuilding and ship repair, trade liberalization and
facilitation, and legal review.
Sessions, which will all be conducted at the DOTC
offices, will be held from Wednesdays to Fridays for
eight consecutive weeks from August 1 to September 19.
“We hope
that the approval will come out before end of July,” she
said.
The
focus on the priority sectors in- tends to bring about a
maritime bill, which hopes to integrate laws and update
regulations pertaining to many outdated shipping
policies. The transport department intends to have the
said
bill signed into law before the end of 2008, allowing
the government to implement the law’s provisions before
the presidential elections of 2010.
A series
of meetings have been held at Maritime Industry
Authority (Marina) early this year to thresh out the
details of the proposed maritime law.
Norway
has given the Philippines a technical assistance grant
of $200,000 (about P9.6 million) for the project. |
