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The Maritime Industry Authority is planning to reorganize its structure and staffing to raise its capacity and improve efficiency
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The maritime industry has expanded but the maritime authority has not
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The proposed organization structure, functional statements, and staffing plan was crafted in 2019 and completed in December 2020
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The proposal also includes beefing up MARINA’s plantilla, increasing it to 1,200 to 1,300 positions
The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) is proposing a reorganization of its structure and staffing to raise its capacity and efficiency.
MARINA administrator Robert Empedrad, in a recent virtual briefing, said the maritime industry has expanded but the maritime authority has not, having only around 600 personnel. He noted that half of the personnel are only job orders, which means they would leave when offered permanent jobs.
“Yung maritime industry kasi lumaki na, nag-expand yung industry, but the MARINA did not expand,” Empedrad said.
“If we have a good organizational structure, we capacitate our personnel then only then can we say we can serve the maritime industry more efficiently and more effectively,” Empedrad added.
The proposed organizational structure, functional statements, and staffing plan were crafted in 2019 and completed in December 2020 by the Development Academy of the Philippines.
According to DAP’s project description: “To be sustainable given its broad functions that encompass shipping, shipbuilding and ship repair, and maritime manpower, the MARINA needs to bolster the ancillary activities of its support system, streamline processes and procedures, capacitate the agency in terms of managing and handling information, and intensify its human resources development and management.”
DAP said it proposed the organizational transformation program “to facilitate the transition of MARINA into a high performing maritime administration that is responsive not only to its mandate and objectives but also to international obligations and commitments that dictate the future activities of MARINA and impose certain adjustments in the way the agency behaves.”
In a separate virtual briefing, Empedrad said that under the proposed plan, there will be four deputies—Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW); administration; planning; and shipping.
Currently, there are two deputy administrators—operations and planning—while there are service directors for STCW, domestic shipping, shipyard regulations, overseas shipping, enforcement, manpower development, maritime safety, franchising, maritime information system, management, financial and administrative, and legal.
The proposal also includes beefing up MARINA’s plantilla to 1,200 to 1,300 positions.
MARINA eyes the submission of the proposal to the Department of Budget and Management this March for approval so that they can execute the plan by next year, Empedrad said.
Part of the plan is to make the regional office for National Capital Region permanent. Empedrad noted that prior to the creation of the NCR regional office, he spends a good amount of his day signing licenses instead of focusing on the strategy directions of MARINA.
