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By Ernie B. Esconde, Correspondent
MARIVELES, Bataan: Filipino seafarers are a
league all their own, according to a member of President Gloria
Arroyo’s Cabinet.
Chairman Dante A. Ang of the Commission on
Filipinos Overseas on Thursday said local sailors are
“world-class” and among the most-respected overseas Filipino
workers.
Because they are globally competitive, Ang
added, the Filipino seamen “receive high salaries of not less than
$3,000 monthly and treated well by their foreign employers.” Their
rather big income, he said, has translated to their families owning
comfortable houses and their children going to good schools.
Retired Vice-Admiral Eduardo Ma. Santos
confirmed Ang’s statements. Santos, the president of the Maritime
Academy of Asia and the Pacific, said the Filipino seafarers,
especially graduates from the academy, earn at least $3,000 a month,
with some getting more.
A graduate of Class of 2004 said he himself was
receiving more than the mentioned amount from a foreign shipping
firm. He had earned his bachelor’s degree in Marine Engineering,
one of the courses offered by the maritime academy located at Kamaya
Point in Alas-Asin here.
Among the world’s seafaring countries, Ang
said, the Philippines ranks second for the most number of officers
on foreign ships. “In quality, these officers are toe-to-toe with
those from China, India and many countries in Europe,” he added.
The chairman congratulated the Maritime Academy
of Asia and the Pacific for producing topnotch graduates and gave
tribute to Capt. Gregorio Oca, the school’s founder.
Ang, though, warned the academy’s alumni
against misplaced pride in their school.
“Success must be compassionate not to oneself
but for others, for success must be coupled with responsibility,”
he told cadets and alumni who trooped the line during a parade and
review after a downpour passed.
Ang was guest of honor and speaker in the Sixth
Alumni Homecoming and Parade where he was given arrival honors. As
customary for guests of the maritime academy, he planted a tree
seedling in the school compound.
Andreas Nordseth, director of the Danish
Maritime Authority, was among the special guests.
Santos said 645 students have graduated from the
academy since 1998, the year the school opened. These graduates, he
added, are gainfully employed in foreign ships. To their number will
be added 128 maritime students who will be given their diplomas
Saturday.
Students of the Maritime Academy of Asia and the
Pacific are all scholars who are entitled to free tuition, board and
lodging. They are commissioned as officers of the Philippine Navy
and are assured of employment upon passing the government’s board
examination.
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