New Marina procedure delays issuance of seaman's book

MANILA, Philippines – Seamen are up in arms over a new Maritime Authority (Marina) policy that they say delays the issuance of their Seaman's book. However, the Marina officer-in-charge defended the agency’s new procedure regarding the issuance of the Seaman’s Identification and Record Book (Seaman’s Book). On GMA news 24Oras,Department of Transportation Undersecretary and Marina OIC Maria Elena Bautista said the delay in the issuance of seaman’s book was due to the implementation of new memorandum circular to expedite the processing and issuance of the most important document of a seafarer. Reporter Riza Reyes reported that under the news rules, the seaman’s book should be processed within eight hours, instead of the previous 15-days. “We’re expecting naman na this whole week to be a little messy kasi sa change of procedure," Bautista said. “Maraming pagbabago and you know may mga tao pa rin talaga na you know resist change... konting konsiderasyon hindi naman po tayo 24 hours kahit saang kayo opisina magpunta mayroon talagang cut-off." A seafarer who was interviewed by GMA News said security guards were also to be blamed in the messy system at the Marina office. “Kanina pa kaming maaga mga ala-6 am pero nadoble ang pila dahil pinayagan ng mga gwardya, pinalusot nila. Ngayon kawawa kami, ngayon kami ang nauna pero kami pa ang mahuhuli," said Francisco Rey Caballes. Another seafarer Eric Lugo has expressed the same sentiment. “Hindi namin alam ano ang sistema nila. Sabi daw nila kahit daw mga empleyado sa Marina naaano sa (bagong) sistema," according to Lugo. At the end of the day, out of the more than 3,000 seafarers that trooped to the Marina office on Tuesday, the agency just processed about 1,200 applications. - Fidel Jimenez, GMANews.TV